Quantum enabled hybrid fiber cable loop

ABSTRACT

Aspects of the subject disclosure may include, for example, determining that quantum entanglement be established between first and second nodes of a service provider network including a software defined network (SDN) that facilitates delivery of a service to a subscriber and identifying a path between the first node and the second node based on pre-provisioned information supplied by the SDN. A path length of the path is estimated based on the pre-provisioned information supplied by the SDN, and a repeater node is selected responsive to the path length exceeding a threshold, wherein the path includes a first segment having a segment length that does not exceed the threshold. A quantum entanglement state is shared between the first and second nodes based on transportation of a first photon of a first entangled pair of photons via the first segment. Other embodiments are disclosed.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.16/706,295, filed Dec. 6, 2019. All sections of the aforementionedapplication(s) and/or patent(s) are incorporated herein by reference intheir entirety.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The subject disclosure relates to a quantum enabled hybrid fiber cableloop.

BACKGROUND

Quantum networks support an exchange of information in the form ofquantum bits, also called qubits, between physically separatedendpoints. Quantum networks include quantum processors adapted forstoring and processing information and quantum channels that link theprocessors. Sharing entanglement over endpoint nodes through a quantumchannels enables physical implementations of quantum cryptography,quantum secret sharing and distributed quantum computation.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, which are notnecessarily drawn to scale, and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary, non-limitingembodiment of a communications network in accordance with variousaspects described herein.

FIG. 2A is a block diagram illustrating an example, non-limitingembodiment of a quantum entanglement distribution system functioningwithin the communication network of FIG. 1 in accordance with variousaspects described herein.

FIG. 2B is a block diagram illustrating an example, non-limitingembodiment of another quantum entanglement distribution systemfunctioning within the communication network of FIG. 1 in accordancewith various aspects described herein.

FIG. 2C is a block diagram illustrating an example, non-limitingembodiment of another quantum entanglement distribution systemfunctioning within the communication network of FIG. 1 in accordancewith various aspects described herein.

FIG. 2D is a block diagram illustrating an example, non-limitingembodiment of another quantum entanglement distribution systemfunctioning within the communication network of FIG. 1 in accordancewith various aspects described herein.

FIG. 2E is a block diagram illustrating an example, non-limitingembodiment of another quantum entanglement distribution systemfunctioning within the communication network of FIG. 1 in accordancewith various aspects described herein.

FIG. 2F is a block diagram illustrating an example, non-limitingembodiment of yet another quantum entanglement distribution systemfunctioning within the communication network of FIG. 1 in accordancewith various aspects described herein.

FIG. 2G is a block diagram illustrating an example, non-limitingembodiment of yet another quantum entanglement distribution systemfunctioning within the communication network of FIG. 1 in accordancewith various aspects described herein.

FIG. 2H depicts an illustrative embodiment of a process in accordancewith various aspects described herein.

FIG. 2I depicts an illustrative embodiment of another process inaccordance with various aspects described herein.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an example, non-limitingembodiment of a virtualized communication network in accordance withvarious aspects described herein.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an example, non-limiting embodiment of acomputing environment in accordance with various aspects describedherein.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of an example, non-limiting embodiment of amobile network platform in accordance with various aspects describedherein.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of an example, non-limiting embodiment of acommunication device in accordance with various aspects describedherein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The subject disclosure describes, among other things, illustrativeembodiments of quantum enabled network architectures adapted toincorporate an entanglement distribution function in a typicaltelecommunication infrastructure by incorporating quantum enable nodes(QEN), e.g., in combination with an optical fiber network, such as ametropolitan fiber network, and in combination with local quantum agents(QA) that manage interactions between the QEN and a source of entangledobjects. The quantum enablement provides generation of groups of quantumentangled objects and efficient distribution of the entangled objectsamong those nodes of the telecommunication network that require quantumprocessing. Other embodiments are described in the subject disclosure.

In particular, the embodiments disclosed herein provide quantum-enabledHFC network that incorporates software defined network (SDN)architecture. In at least some embodiments, a free-space optical link,such as a satellite link, are applied as intermediate, trusted node.According to the techniques disclosed herein, an HFC network or loop,e.g., consisting of fiber and coax, can select an efficient quantumentanglement end-to-end distribution path or set of paths using acentralized SDN intelligence. Owing to channel loss, the main challengefor a practical quantum networking is to extend the communication rangeto long distances. Distance is still a factor of efficient quantumentanglement distribution for long distance. SDN can be configured witha prior knowledge of distances among quantum channel nodes supportingthe HFC network to identify and configure path routing information forany specific traffic, e.g., in support of a service level agreement(SLA) and in real time.

One or more aspects of the subject disclosure include a system,including a processing system having a processor and a memory thatstores executable instructions that, when executed by the processingsystem, facilitate performance of operations. The operations includereceiving a request for communications between a first communicationnode and a second communication node, determining that thecommunications require a quantum channel, and identifying a firstnetwork routing path of a group of network routing paths according tothe quantum channel. Quantum entanglement is established between thefirst communication node and the second communication node based ontransportation of a first quantum entangled photon of a first pair ofquantum entangled photons via the first network routing path, resultingin a transported first quantum entangled photon of the first pair ofquantum entangled photons. The operations further include initiating aclassical communication channel between the first communication node andthe second communication node, the classical communication channeladapted to communicate quantum state information from the firstcommunication node to the second communication node to obtaincommunicated quantum state information, wherein the quantum stateinformation is obtained from a measurement performed upon a secondquantum entangled photon of the first pair of quantum entangled photons.Information is exchanged between the first communication node and thesecond communication node via the quantum channel according to thetransported first quantum entangled photon of the first pair of quantumentangled photons and the communicated quantum state information.

One or more aspects of the subject disclosure include a process thatincludes detecting, by a processing system including a processor, arequest to facilitate communications, to obtain requestedcommunications, between a first communication node and a secondcommunication node, determining, by the processing system, that therequested communications be established via quantum teleportationbetween the first communication node and the second communication node,the quantum teleportation based on a quantum entanglement among a firstgroup of quantum entangled objects, and identifying, by the processingsystem, a network path of a group of network paths according to aquantum channel. Quantum entanglement is established between the firstcommunication node and the second communication node based ontransportation of a first quantum entangled object of the first group ofquantum entangled objects via a first path segment of the network path,resulting in a transported first quantum entangled object. The processfurther includes facilitating, by the processing system, a classicalcommunication channel between the first communication node and thesecond communication node, the classical communication channelsupporting an exchange of quantum state information of the first quantumentangled object from the first communication node to the secondcommunication node to obtain exchanged quantum state information.Information is exchanged between the first communication node and thesecond communication node via the quantum channel according to thetransported first quantum entangled object and the exchanged quantumstate information.

One or more aspects of the subject disclosure include a non-transitory,machine-readable medium, comprising executable instructions that, whenexecuted by a processing system including a processor, facilitateperformance of operations. The operations include identifying a requestto facilitate communications between a first processing node and asecond processing node, determining that the communications beestablished via quantum teleportation between the first processing nodeand the second processing node, the quantum teleportation based on aquantum entanglement among a group of quantum entangled objects, andidentifying a network path comprising a first path segment to obtain aquantum channel. Quantum entanglement is established between the firstprocessing node and the second processing node based on transportationof a first quantum entangled object of the group of quantum entangledobjects via the quantum channel, resulting in a transported firstquantum entangled object. The operations further include facilitating aclassical communication channel between the first processing node andthe second processing node, the classical communication channel adaptedto exchange quantum state information of a measurement performed uponthe first quantum entangled object from the first processing node to thesecond processing node to obtain exchanged quantum state information.Information is exchanged between the first processing node and thesecond processing node via the quantum channel according to thetransported first quantum entangled object and the exchanged quantumstate information.

One or more aspects of the subject disclosure include a system having aprocessing system including a processor and a memory. The memory storesexecutable instructions that, when executed by the processing system,facilitate performance of operations. The operations include determiningthat quantum entanglement be established between a first node and asecond node of a service provider network comprising a software definednetwork (SDN) that facilitates delivery of a service to a servicesubscriber. According to the operations, a quantum path is selectedbetween the first node and the second node based on pre-provisionedinformation supplied by the SDN; calculating a path length of thequantum path based on the pre-provisioned information supplied by theSDN, and a quantum repeater node is identified responsive to the pathlength exceeding a threshold, wherein the quantum path comprises a firstsegment between the first node and the quantum repeater and having asegment length that does not exceed the threshold. A sharing of aquantum entanglement state is facilitated between the first node and thesecond node to obtain a shared quantum entanglement state based ontransportation of a first photon of a first entangled pair of photonsvia the first segment.

One or more aspects of the subject disclosure include a process thatincludes determining, by a processing system including a processor, thatquantum entanglement be established between a first node and a secondnode of a service provider network comprising a software defined network(SDN) that facilitates delivery of a service to a service subscriber.The process further includes identifying, by the processing system, apath between the first node and the second node based on pre-provisionedinformation supplied by the SDN, and determining, by the processingsystem, a path length of the path based on the pre-provisionedinformation supplied by the SDN. The process further includesidentifying, by the processing system, a repeater node responsive to thepath length exceeding a threshold, wherein the path includes a firstsegment between the first node and the repeater node having a segmentlength that does not exceed the threshold; and facilitating, by theprocessing system, a sharing of a quantum entanglement state between thefirst node and the second node to obtain a shared quantum entanglementstate based on transportation of a first photon of a first entangledpair of photons via the first segment.

One or more aspects of the subject disclosure include a non-transitory,machine-readable medium, including executable instructions that, whenexecuted by a processing system including a processor, facilitateperformance of operations. The operations include determining thatquantum entanglement be established between a first node and a secondnode of a service provider network comprising a software defined network(SDN) that facilitates delivery of a service to a service subscriber;identifying a path between the first node and the second node based onpre-provisioned information supplied by the SDN. The operations furtherinclude estimating a path length of the path based on thepre-provisioned information supplied by the SDN, and selecting a quantumrepeater node responsive to the path length exceeding a threshold,wherein the path comprises a first segment between the first node andthe quantum repeater having a segment length that does not exceed thethreshold. According to the operations, a sharing of a quantumentanglement state is facilitated between the first node and the secondnode to obtain a shared quantum entanglement state based ontransportation of a first photon of a first entangled pair of photonsvia the first segment.

Referring now to FIG. 1, a block diagram is shown illustrating anexample, non-limiting embodiment of a communications network 100 inaccordance with various aspects described herein. For example,communications network 100 can facilitate in whole or in part ageneration of a quantum entangled group of objects, such as entangledphotons, responsive to a request for processing, e.g., communicationbetween remote processing nodes, that utilizes quantum entanglement. Inparticular, the quantum entangle objects of the group of objects, e.g.,entangled photons, are generated and distributed in an efficient andreliable manner to one or more of the processing nodes based on therequest. Quantum agents (QA) are employed, that in at least someapplications, evaluate communication and/or processing requests todetermine whether quantum entanglement is required. The network 100 caninclude a local QAs at one or more of the processing nodes. Havingidentified communications and/or processing nodes to be entangled, oneor more quantum channels are identified to support transportation of theentangled objects from an entanglement source to remote destinations tofacilitate quantum entanglement between endpoints of the requested link.It is envisioned that in at least some applications, one or more quantumrepeaters may be necessary, in which case a swapping of quantuminformation or states can be employed to extent an entangled statebetween the source and the destination by way of the repeater.Accordingly, the quantum channels can be established between one or moreof the quantum source, a source processing node, a destinationprocessing node and possibly one or more intermediate nodes, such as aquantum repeater node.

In particular, a communications network 125 is presented for providingbroadband access 110 to a plurality of data terminals 114 via accessterminal 112, wireless access 120 to a plurality of mobile devices 124and vehicle 126 via base station or access point 122, voice access 130to a plurality of telephony devices 134, via switching device 132 and/ormedia access 140 to a plurality of audio/video display devices 144 viamedia terminal 142. In addition, communication network 125 is coupled toone or more content sources 175 of audio, video, graphics, text and/orother media. While broadband access 110, wireless access 120, voiceaccess 130 and media access 140 are shown separately, one or more ofthese forms of access can be combined to provide multiple accessservices to a single client device (e.g., mobile devices 124 can receivemedia content via media terminal 142, data terminal 114 can be providedvoice access via switching device 132, and so on).

The communications network 125 includes a plurality of network elements(NE) 150, 152, 154, 156, etc., for facilitating the broadband access110, wireless access 120, voice access 130, media access 140 and/or thedistribution of content from content sources 175. The communicationsnetwork 125 can include a circuit switched or packet switched network, avoice over Internet protocol (VoIP) network, Internet protocol (IP)network, a cable network, a passive or active optical network, a 4G, 5G,or higher generation wireless access network, WIMAX network,UltraWideband network, personal area network or other wireless accessnetwork, a broadcast satellite network and/or other communicationsnetwork.

In various embodiments, the access terminal 112 can include a digitalsubscriber line access multiplexer (DSLAM), cable modem terminationsystem (CMTS), optical line terminal (OLT) and/or other access terminal.The data terminals 114 can include personal computers, laptop computers,netbook computers, tablets or other computing devices along with digitalsubscriber line (DSL) modems, data over coax service interfacespecification (DOCSIS) modems or other cable modems, a wireless modemsuch as a 4G, 5G, or higher generation modem, an optical modem and/orother access devices.

In various embodiments, the base station or access point 122 can includea 4G, 5G, or higher generation base station, an access point thatoperates via an 802.11 standard such as 802.11n, 802.11ac or otherwireless access terminal. The mobile devices 124 can include mobilephones, e-readers, tablets, phablets, wireless modems, and/or othermobile computing devices.

In various embodiments, the switching device 132 can include a privatebranch exchange or central office switch, a media services gateway, VoIPgateway or other gateway device and/or other switching device. Thetelephony devices 134 can include traditional telephones (with orwithout a terminal adapter), VoIP telephones and/or other telephonydevices.

In various embodiments, the media terminal 142 can include a cablehead-end or other TV head-end, a satellite receiver, gateway or othermedia terminal 142. The display devices 144 can include televisions withor without a set top box, personal computers and/or other displaydevices.

In various embodiments, the content sources 175 include broadcasttelevision and radio sources, video on demand platforms and streamingvideo and audio services platforms, one or more content data networks,data servers, web servers and other content servers, and/or othersources of media.

In various embodiments, the communications network 125 can includewired, optical and/or wireless links and the network elements 150, 152,154, 156, etc., can include service switching points, signal transferpoints, service control points, network gateways, media distributionhubs, servers, firewalls, routers, edge devices, switches and othernetwork nodes for routing and controlling communications traffic overwired, optical and wireless links as part of the Internet and otherpublic networks as well as one or more private networks, for managingsubscriber access, for billing and network management and for supportingother network functions.

The various examples and architectures disclosed herein facilitatedistribution of quantum entanglement, a building block of the entangledquantum networking. In at least some applications, the quantumentanglement distribution architectures are employed in combination withwireless communications, e.g., radio access networks (RAN), includingwireless applications according to standards of the 3rd GenerationPartnership Project (3GPP). Examples include, without limitation, theGlobal System for Mobile Communications (GSM) standard, and related 2Gand 2/5G standards, including General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) andEnhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE), 3^(rd) generation (3G)standards, such as Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS),4^(th) generation (4G) standards, such as Long-Term Evolution (LTE), LTEAdvanced, and 5^(th) generation (5G) standards, such as 5G NR (NewRadio).

The exchange of quantum information between remote locations isachievable through quantum entanglement distribution between remotenodes, e.g., according to an Einstein, Podolsky, and Rosen (EPR) pair,such as an entangled pair of photons. For many applications of quantuminformation, such as quantum key distribution (QKD), hyper-dense orsuper-dense coding, and teleportation, the entanglement distribution,that is the distribution of the entangled qubits between a source nodeand a destination node is a core requirement. Such entanglementdistribution will also be necessary for any realization of an entangledcore network structure of a quantum Internet. According to hyper-densecoding, more than one classical bit of information can be encoded intoone quibit. An EPR pair is a pair of qubits that are in a Bell statetogether. Bell states refer to specific quantum states of a quantumentangled systems. For a two-qubit system, the Bell states include fourspecific maximally entangled quantum states of the pair. As aconsequence of the pair's entanglement, a measurement of one member ofthe pair, i.e., one qubit, will assign a value to the other qubitimmediately. This can occur in one of four ways for the pair, in whichwhere the value assigned depends on which Bell state the two qubits arein.

By using quantum superposition, or quantum entanglement, andtransmitting information in quantum states, a communication system iswell suited for detecting eavesdropping. Quantum entanglement is theshared state of two separate particles, such that what happens to onehappens to other. More generally, the entanglement process includescreation of a pair of qubits, e.g., photons of light, in a particular,e.g., a single, quantum state. According to quantum entanglement, evenif the pair of qubits are separated and transported to remotedestinations, e.g., in opposite directions, they retain in an entangledstate, suggesting a quantum connection. According to the quantumconnection, any change in the quantum state of one photon willinstantaneously and irreversibly change the state of the other one in apredictable way, despite an arbitrary separation distance. For example,measurement of one qubit will assign one of two possible values to theother qubit instantly. Accordingly, it can be said that the quantumstate is teleported from one node to another.

Such quantum teleportation requires first establishing separation of apair of entangled photons between two nodes, e.g., network element 154(node A) and network element 156 (node B). As a prerequisite for quantumteleportation, an entangled pair of photons is generated or otherwisecreated, e.g., at an entanglement source or generator. In someembodiments, each of nodes A and B receives a respective entangledphoton or qubit of the entangled pair, e.g., via any of the examplequantum entanglement architectures disclosed herein. Node A, a source inthis example, permits its entangled photon to interact with a “memoryqubit” that holds data intended for transmission from node A to node B.This interaction changes the state of node A's photon, and throughquantum entanglement, while also simultaneously changing the state ofnode B's photon too. In effect, this process “teleports” the informationobtained from A's memory qubit from node A to node B, via the sharedentangled photon pair.

The illustrative communications network 100, includes a first quantumenabled node (QEN) 160 a and a second quantum enabled node 160 b, and aquantum source (QS) 162. The first QEN 160 a is associated with thefirst NE 154 (node A); whereas, the second QEN 160 b is associated withthe second NE 156 (node B). The QENs 160 a, 160 b, generally 160, areadapted to process quantum entangled objects, such as entangled photons.The quantum source 162 generates an entangled pair, e.g., an entangledphoton pair, and distributes one of the entangled photons to the firstQEN 160 a via a first quantum channel, and a second one of the entangledphotons to the second QEN 160 b. Once distributed in this manner, eachof the QENs 160 a, 160 b share quantum entanglement by way of the sharedpair of entangled photons. In physically realizable systems,transportation of an entangled object, such as an entangled photon, maybe subject to limitations, such as decay, noise, time delay. Dependingupon a physical separation of, and/or a network configuration betweenthe end nodes, i.e., nodes A and B, one or more additional quantumentangled objects, e.g., entangled photon pairs, may be utilized toextend entanglement. Through a process known as entanglement swapping,entanglement can be transferred, or swapped, onto two particles thatoriginated from different sources and were formerly completelyindependent. This is the first time that two autonomous photons fromcontinuous sources have been entangled. Quantum processing can include,without limitation, one or more of receiving a qubit, storing a qubit,and performing a measurement on a received and/or stored qubit, e.g., toobtain quantum information, such as a quantum state.

According to entanglement swapping, independent pairs of entangledqubits can be generated by autonomous sources. A joint measurement canbe performed on one qubit from each of the independent pairs such thatthe two pairs enter into an entangled state. The two remaining qubits ofthe two independent pairs can be projected onto an entangled statedespite their being unaware of each other's presence and never havingpreviously interacted.

In at least some applications, quantum processing, e.g., quantumteleportation, also includes a sharing of a quantum measurement resultbetween the QENs 160 a, 160 b. For example, if the first QEN 160 aperforms a measurement to impress information onto its shared qubit, themeasurement result obtained at the first QEN 160 a can be transmitted tothe second QEN 160 b via a classical communication channel, e.g.,without using entanglement. Such a transfer of the measurement resultallows the second QEN 160 b to perform an independent measurement on itsshared quibit, to confirm that its measurement result is consistent withthe result shared via the classical communications channel, signifying aquantum teleportation of information from the first QEN 160 a to thesecond QEN 160 b. The classical communication channel can include one ormore of the various communications supported by the communicationsnetwork 125. Although the example QENs 160 are illustrated as beingprovided in association with the NEs 154, 156 of the communicationnetwork, it is envisioned that one or more of the QENs 160 can likewisebe included at any one or more of the broadband access 110, the voiceaccess 130, the wireless access 120 and the media access 140 elements.Additionally, in at least some embodiments, the quantum source 162 canbe collocated with a source QEN 160 a, such that a separate quantumchannel would be unnecessary as one of a generated pair of entangledobjects would already be present at the source QEN 160 a.

A long-distance entanglement distribution can be adapted to address orotherwise overcome challenges resulting from a decay of any realizableentanglement distribution rate as a function of the distance. Asmentioned above, Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen (EPR) is a building block ofentanglement-based and entanglement-assisted quantum communicationprotocols. A prior shared EPR pair and an authenticated classicalchannel allow two distant users to share information, e.g., a secretkey. The example network architecture provides at least one centralizedEPR source that can create entangled states by a process of spontaneousparametric down-conversion (SPDC). Once generated, the states can berouted and/or otherwise distributed to users in different accessnetworks.

FIG. 2A is a block diagram illustrating an example, non-limitingembodiment of a quantum entanglement distribution system 200 functioningwithin the communication network of FIG. 1 in accordance with variousaspects described herein. The system 200 includes two processing nodes,referred to herein as a first processing node 201 a and a secondprocessing node 201 b. The first processing node 201 a includes a firstquantum enabled node 202 a and a first quantum agent 203 a. Likewise,the second processing node 201 b includes a second quantum enabled node202 b and a second quantum agent 203 b. In at least some embodiments,information can be shared or otherwise exchanged between the twoprocessing nodes 201 a, 201 b, generally 201, through a process thatrelies at least in part upon a so-called entanglement, or quantumentanglement between the processing nodes 201.

Quantum entanglement occurs when two distinct physical systems, e.g.,the two processing nodes 201, are attributed non-separable quantumstates. The quantum states can be established by generating entangledobjects at one location, physically separating the entangled objects andtransporting one or both of the entangled objects to other locations toeffectively share portions of the entangled objects. A two-level quantumsystem, is referred to as a quantum bit or qubit. For example, anentangled pair of qubits can be generated, a first qubit of an entangledpair of qubits can be provided to the first processing node 201 a, and asecond qubit of the entangled pair of qubits can be provide to thesecond processing node 201 b. Accordingly, the two processing nodes 201,may share halves of two qubit entangled states. In such an entangledstate, a special interrelationship exists between the nodes 201, inwhich measuring an object, e.g., the first qubit of the entangled pair,instantly influences the other, e.g., the second qubit of the entangledpair, even if the two are completely isolated and/or separated from oneanother. Thus, if one of the entangled qubits is measured in any basisto have a definite physical state, such as a polarization of a photon,then the state of the other must be exactly complementary to thispolarization.

According to the illustrative embodiment, the system 200 furtherincludes a quantum entanglement source 205, adapted to generate aquantum entangled group of objects, e.g., a qubit and/or a group ofqubits. One or more members of the quantum entangled group of objectscan be physically transported to one or more target locations via anentanglement distribution system 206 a. According to the illustrativeexample, the entanglement distribution system 206 a includes one or morequantum channels, or links 207 a, 207 b, 207 c, adapted to transport oneor more of the members of the quantum entangled group of objects. It isunderstood that the entanglement distribution system 206 a can includeat least one configurable element, such as a switch and/or a routeradapted to selectively control the distribution of the quantum entangledgroup of objects. According to the illustrative example, theentanglement distribution system 206 a includes an entanglementdistribution network 206.

In some embodiments, the entanglement distribution network 206 includesa fiber optic system. Example fiber optic systems include, withoutlimitation, direct, point-to-point fiber optic links, e.g., between thequantum enabled nodes 202 a, 202 b and/or between the quantumentanglement source 205 and one or more of the quantum enabled nodes 202a, 202 b. Alternatively or in addition, the entanglement distributionnetwork 206 includes one or more of a fiber ring network and a fibermesh network. Distribution and/or routing of entangled photons caninclude one or more of add/drop multiplexers, wavelength divisionmultiplexers, switches, e.g., cross bar switches, optical routers andthe like. In at least some embodiments, the fiber optic networkincludes, so-called, deep fiber that extends at or at least relativelyclose to endpoint destinations, e.g., households, apartment buildings,business, and the like. It is understood that existing fiber opticnetworks and/or links can be used in whole or in part to facilitatedistribution of entangled photons according to the disclosedembodiments.

In general, the entanglement distribution network 206 facilitatesdistribution of one or more qubits from a qubit source, e.g., anindependent qubit source 205, to one or more of the quantum enablednodes 202 a, 202 b of the communications nodes 201. The entanglementdistribution network 206 can include one or more switches, routers,and/or other configurable network elements adapted to establish quantumchannel links. Depending upon a configuration of the entanglementdistribution network 206, one or more of the quantum entangled group ofobjects can be selectively directed to one or more locations, such asthe first processing node 201 a, the second processing node 201 b, orboth the first and second processing nodes 201 a, 201 b, via one or moreof the quantum channels 207 a, 207 b, 207 c, generally 207.

The illustrative embodiment of the quantum entanglement distributionsystem 200 includes an entanglement distribution controller 204. Thecontroller 204 can generate and/or apply logic, and/or policies, and/oralgorithms and the like, to facilitate entanglement distribution, bydirecting one or more members of the quantum entangled group of objectsto predetermined locations, e.g., processing nodes 201, or moreparticularly, quantum enabled nodes 202 a, 202 b, as detailed furtherbelow. For example, the controller 204 may select one or more quantumcommunication links and/or configuration(s) of one or more configurableelements of a quantum communication link or channel. In at least someembodiments, the controller 204 determines a suitable configuration ofthe configurable entanglement distribution network 206, and conveys oneor more control signals to the configurable entanglement distributionnetwork 206. The control signals cause the entanglement distributionnetwork 206 to configure, or reconfigure itself facilitate transport ofthe members of the quantum entangled group of objects to theirpredetermined or intended locations. The control signals can be directedfrom the controller 204 to the configurable entanglement distributionnetwork 206 via a control or signaling channel, such as a quantumentanglement signaling channel or network 208.

It is envisioned that in at least some embodiments, the quantumentanglement signaling channel or network 208 comprises one or moreclassical communications channels, i.e., not specifically employingquantum entanglement, quantum processing and/or quantum teleportation.However, it is further envisioned that in at least some embodiments, thequantum entanglement signaling channel or network 208 can employ aquantum channel, e.g., a quantum link 207. For example, control and/orconfiguration information for a second quantum link may be exchangedbetween the controller 204 and the configurable entanglementdistribution network 206 via quantum entanglement over a first,pre-established quantum link.

In more detail, the first quantum enabled node 202 a is in communicationwith the first quantum agent 203 a. Likewise, the second quantum enablednode 202 b is in communication with the second quantum agent 203 b. Thefirst and second quantum agents 203 a, 203 b can be in communicationwith each other via a classical communications channel or network 209,i.e., not relying upon qubits or entanglement sharing. At least one ofthe quantum agents 203, e.g., the first quantum agent 203 a, is incommunication with the controller 204. At least one of the first orsecond quantum agents 203 a, 203 b is in communication with thecontroller 204. In at least some embodiments, communications between thequantum agent 203 and the controller 204 may be accommodated via aclassical communications channel or network, i.e., not relying uponqubits or entanglement sharing.

The controller 204 can be implemented as a standalone processing device,such as a dedicated server. Alternatively or in addition, the controller204, without limitation, can be combined with or otherwise hosted onanother system, such as a telecommunications system controller, aterrestrial network controller, a fiber optic network controller, acable network controller, a wireless link controller, a satellite linkcontroller, and the like. The controller 204 may be combined with orotherwise collocated with the qubit source 205. Alternatively, thecontroller 204 may be remoted from the qubit source 205. When remoted,the controller 204 can be in communication with the qubit source 205 viaa telecommunications network, a terrestrial packet switched network, afiber optic network, a cable network, a wireless network, a satellitenetwork controller, and the like.

In some embodiments, one or more of the processing nodes 201 arecommunications nodes, e.g., sharing quantum entanglement and exchanginginformation with one or more other processing nodes 201, via quantumteleportation. According to quantum communications, entangled photonsare used to transfer information between nodes, in which a source nodeor sender holds half of the entangled photons, while the destinationnode or receiver holds the other half. Communication can be madepossible by manipulation of the photons at one of the source anddestination, resulting in an instantaneous change in the correspondingphotons.

Alternatively or in addition, the processing nodes 201 can includequantum processors adapted to store and/or otherwise manipulate orprocess qubits. Quantum processors rely on quantum bits, or qubits,instead of classical bits. Since qubits can exist in multiple states,e.g., a ‘0’ and a ‘1,’ known as superposition, they can supportperformance of multiple calculations at once, while traditional bits areconfined to only a 0 or a 1, limiting them to one calculation at a time.When one quantum processor changes the states of its photons, thecorresponding entangled photons are changed in the other quantumprocessor, thus transferring the necessary qubits.

The qubit source 205 may include a microscopic system, such as an atom,e.g., atomic nuclei, in which entanglement is shared via a nuclear spin,or a photo in which entanglement may be shared by one or more ofpolarized or orbital angular momentum. Qubits that utilize photons canbe carried or otherwise transported along optical channels. For example,one or more of the quantum channels or links 207 that convey polarizedphotons can include optical fiber, free space, or a combination ofoptical fiber and free-space optical links. A processing node 201adapted for processing photon-based qubits may include a photondetector, e.g., a single photon detector, a polarization detector, aquantum storage element to store qubits received from the quantumentanglement source 205.

The quantum agent 203 can include a processor, such as a microprocessoradapted to execute a preprogrammed instruction set to interact with thequantum enabled node 202 to facilitate generation of entanglementbetween itself and a quantum agent of another node. Facilitatinggeneration of entanglement can include one or more of: (i) identifying asource processing node 201 a and/or a destination node 201 b, andpossibly an intervening node, such as a quantum repeater to identify aparticular quantum channel; (ii) requesting generation of and/ordissemination of entangled qubits among processing nodes 201 of theparticular quantum channel; (iii) performing measurements on at leastone of a pair of entangled qubits shared via at least a portion of theparticular quantum channel; (iv) determining entangled stateinformation, such as a state of at least one of the shared pair ofentangled qubits; and (v) sharing the determined state information withthe destination node 201.

A local QA 203 a can be preconfigured with a list of QENs 202, such as alist of QENs 202 accessible by the entanglement distribution network206. It is understood that in at least some applications, one or more ofthe QENs 202 are preconfigured with connectivity tables. Alternativelyor in addition, the QA 203 a can be preconfigured, e.g., pre-programmed,with logic and/or policies adapted to implement, control and/orotherwise manage quantum entanglement distribution. For example, the QA203 a can receive a request for processing at one or more processingnodes 201, and determine whether the processing should employ quantumentanglement. The request for processing can include a request forcommunications between processing nodes 201, a request for quantumencryption of information at one or more of the processing nodes 201,and/or to communications between processing nodes 201. Determinationsrequiring quantum entanglement can be based on one or more of variousconditions, such as an imposed and/or requested security level ofprocessed information, a location of one or more of the processing nodes201, e.g., in a secure facility, a sender and/or recipient identity, alevel of subscription, and the like.

Alternatively or in addition, determinations requiring quantumentanglement can be based on a quantity of data to be processed, aprocessing timing requirement, channel conditions, channel capacity ofthe classical communications network 209 and/or the entanglementdistribution network 206, and/or any one or more of the quantum links207. Alternatively or in addition, the determinations requiring quantumentanglement can be based on quantum source 205 availability and/orcapacity, success and/or failures of prior attempts to establishentanglement, time of day, network routing path geometry, etc. It isfurther understood that determinations requiring quantum entanglement,including in any of the foregoing examples, can depend upon a thresholdvalue, e.g., a security level threshold, a time delay threshold, achannel capacity threshold, a link length and or number of nodesthreshold, and the like.

The QA 203 a, having received a request for communication between twonodes 201, and having determined that quantum entanglement should beapplied, determines a configuration of a quantum channel fortransporting one or more entangled objects, e.g., photons. Theconfiguration can be determined according to predetermined parameters,such as maximum allowable link distances to ensure reliable transport ofthe quantum entangled photon(s) to intended destination(s). Preferencescan be established to minimize link distances and/or numbers ofintermediate nodes. Configurations can be determined according toavailability of QENs 202 at a source, a destination and/or anyintermediate nodes. For systems in which there may be more than onequantum source 205, configuration can include identification of the oneor more sources 205 and/or link selection and/or network configurationsbetween the one or more sources 205, the source node, the destinationnode and/or any intervening nodes.

In at least some configurations, quantum repeaters may be available. Tothe extent they are, configurations may be selected to employ theavailable quantum repeaters, and/or to avoid them when possible, and/orto minimize their use in order to establish and/or maintain a relativelylow complexity and/or high reliability of the quantum distribution.

FIG. 2B is a block diagram illustrating an example, non-limitingembodiment of another quantum entanglement distribution system 210functioning within the communication network of FIG. 1 in accordancewith various aspects described herein. The system 210 includes a firstprocessing node 211 a and a second processing node 211 b. The firstprocessing node 211 a includes a first QEN 212 a and a first QA 213 a.Likewise, the second processing node 211 b includes a second QEN 212 band a second QA 213 b. The system 210 further includes a quantumentanglement source 215, adapted to generate a quantum entangled groupof objects, e.g., a qubit and/or a group of qubits. One or more membersof the quantum entangled group of objects can be physically transportedto one or more target locations via an entanglement distribution system216 a. According to the illustrative example, the entanglementdistribution system 216 a includes one or more quantum channels, orlinks 217 a, 217 b, 217 c, adapted to transport one or more of themembers of the quantum entangled group of objects. It is understood thatthe entanglement distribution system 216 a can include at least oneconfigurable element, such as a switch and/or a router adapted toselectively control the distribution of the quantum entangled group ofobjects. According to the illustrative example, the entanglementdistribution system 216 a includes an entanglement distribution network216.

In general, the entanglement distribution network 216 facilitatesdistribution of one or more qubits from the qubit source 215, to one ormore of the quantum enabled nodes 212 a, 212 b of the communicationsnodes 211. The entanglement distribution network 216 can include one ormore switches, routers, and/or other configurable network elementsadapted to establish quantum channel links. Depending upon aconfiguration of the entanglement distribution network 216, one or moreof the quantum entangled group of objects can be selectively directed toone or more locations, such as the first processing node 211 a, thesecond processing node 211 b, or both the first and second processingnodes 211 a, 211 b, via one or more of the quantum channels 217 a, 217b, 217 c, generally 217.

The first and second quantum agents 213 a, 213 b can be in communicationwith each other via a classical communications channel or network 219,i.e., not relying upon qubits or entanglement sharing. At least one ofthe first or second quantum agents 213 a, 213 b is in communication withthe controller 214. In at least some embodiments, communications betweenthe quantum agent 213 and the controller 214 may be accommodated via aclassical communications channel 219 or network, i.e., not relying uponqubits or entanglement sharing. According to the illustrativeembodiment, the controller 214 can communicate with the quantumdistribution network 216 via the classical communications network 219,e.g., foregoing the need for a separate and/or independent quantumchannel signaling network.

Any of the elements, such as the QAs, 213, the controller 214, and/orthe QENs 212 can be preconfigured with a list of QENs 212, such as alist of QENs 212 accessible by the quantum distribution network 216,connectivity tables, logic and/or policies adapted to implement, controland/or otherwise manage quantum entanglement distribution, e.g., asdisclosed in reference to FIG. 2A.

FIG. 2C is a block diagram illustrating an example, non-limitingembodiment of another quantum entanglement distribution systemfunctioning within the communication network of FIG. 1 in accordancewith various aspects described herein. The system 220 includes a firstprocessing node 221 a and a second processing node 221 b. The firstprocessing node 221 a includes a first QEN 222 a and a first QA 223 a.Likewise, the second processing node 221 b includes a second QEN 222 band a second QA 223 b. The system 220 further includes a quantumentanglement source 225, adapted to generate a quantum entangled groupof objects, e.g., a qubit and/or a group of qubits. One or more membersof the quantum entangled group of objects can be physically transportedto one or more target locations via an entanglement distribution system226 a. According to the illustrative example, the entanglementdistribution system 226 a includes one or more quantum channels, orlinks 227 a, 227 b, 227 c, adapted to transport one or more of themembers of the quantum entangled group of objects. It is understood thatthe entanglement distribution system 226 a can include at least oneconfigurable element, such as a switch and/or a router adapted toselectively control the distribution of the quantum entangled group ofobjects. According to the illustrative example, the entanglementdistribution system 226 a includes an entanglement distribution network226.

In general, the entanglement distribution network 226 facilitatesdistribution of one or more qubits from the qubit source 225, to one ormore of the quantum enabled nodes 222 a, 222 b of the communicationsnodes 221. The entanglement distribution network 226 can include one ormore switches, routers, and/or other configurable network elementsadapted to establish quantum channel links. Depending upon aconfiguration of the entanglement distribution network 226, one or moreof the quantum entangled group of objects can be selectively directed toone or more locations, such as the first processing node 221 a, thesecond processing node 221 b, or both the first and second processingnodes 221 a, 221 b, via one or more of the quantum channels 227 a, 227b, 227 c, generally 227.

The first and second quantum agents 223 a, 223 b can be in communicationwith each other via a classical communications channel or network 229,i.e., not relying upon qubits or entanglement sharing. At least one ofthe first or second quantum agents 223 a, 223 b is in communication withthe controller 224. In at least some embodiments, communications betweenthe quantum agent 223 and the controller 224 may be accommodated via aclassical communications channel or network, i.e., not relying uponqubits or entanglement sharing. According to the illustrativeembodiment, the controller 224 can communicate with the quantumdistribution network 226 via the quantum links 227, e.g., also foregoingthe need for a separate and/or independent quantum channel signalingnetwork. For applications in which the quantum links include fiber opticlinks, the signaling information can be communicated over the quantumlink 227 via a classical communication channel, e.g., independent fromtransport of a quantum entangled photon over the same link.

Any of the elements, such as the QAs, 223, the controller 224, and/orthe QENs 222 can be preconfigured with a list of QENs 222, such as alist of QENs 222 accessible by the quantum distribution network 226,connectivity tables, logic and/or policies adapted to implement, controland/or otherwise manage quantum entanglement distribution, e.g., asdisclosed in reference to FIG. 2A.

FIG. 2D is a block diagram illustrating an example, non-limitingembodiment of another quantum entanglement distribution systemfunctioning within the communication network of FIG. 1 in accordancewith various aspects described herein. The system 230 includes a firstprocessing node 231 a and a second processing node 231 b. The firstprocessing node 231 a includes a first QEN 232 a and a first QA 233 a.Likewise, the second processing node 231 b includes a second QEN 232 band a second QA 233 b. The system 230 further includes a quantumentanglement source 235, adapted to generate a quantum entangled groupof objects, e.g., a qubit and/or a group of qubits. One or more membersof the quantum entangled group of objects can be physically transportedto one or more target locations via an entanglement distribution system236 a. According to the illustrative example, the entanglementdistribution system 236 a includes one or more quantum channels, orlinks 237 a, 237 b, 237 c, adapted to transport one or more of themembers of the quantum entangled group of objects. It is understood thatthe entanglement distribution system 236 a can include at least oneconfigurable element, such as a switch and/or a router adapted toselectively control the distribution of the quantum entangled group ofobjects. According to the illustrative example, the entanglementdistribution system 236 a includes an entanglement distribution network236.

In general, the entanglement distribution network 236 facilitatesdistribution of one or more qubits from the qubit source 235, to one ormore of the quantum enabled nodes 232 a, 232 b of the communicationsnodes 231. The entanglement distribution network 236 can include one ormore switches, routers, and/or other configurable network elementsadapted to establish quantum channel links. Depending upon aconfiguration of the entanglement distribution network 236, one or moreof the quantum entangled group of objects can be selectively directed toone or more locations, such as the first processing node 231 a, thesecond processing node 231 b, or both the first and second processingnodes 231 a, 231 b, via one or more of the quantum channels 237 a, 237b, 237 c, generally 237.

According to the illustrative embodiment, the QAs 233 can exchangequantum state information via a classical channel supported over one ormore of the quantum links 237, e.g., also foregoing the need for aseparate and/or independent classical communications channel. Forapplications in which the quantum links include fiber optic links, thequantum state information can be communicated over the quantum link 237via a classical communication channel, e.g., independent from transportof a quantum entangled photon over the same link. The signalinginformation can be communicated over a signaling network 238, via aclassical communication channel, e.g., independent from transport of aquantum entangled photon and/or the classical communications between QAs233 over the quantum channel 237.

Any of the elements, such as the QAs, 233, the controller 234, and/orthe QENs 232 can be preconfigured with a list of QENs 232, such as alist of QENs 232 accessible by the quantum distribution network 226,connectivity tables, logic and/or policies adapted to implement, controland/or otherwise manage quantum entanglement distribution, e.g., asdisclosed in reference to FIG. 2A.

FIG. 2E is a block diagram illustrating an example, non-limitingembodiment of another quantum entanglement distribution systemfunctioning within the communication network of FIG. 1 in accordancewith various aspects described herein. The system 240 includes a firstprocessing node 241 a and a second processing node 241 b. The firstprocessing node 241 a includes a first QEN 242 a and a first QA 243 a.Likewise, the second processing node 241 b includes a second QEN 242 band a second QA 243 b. The system 240 further includes a quantumentanglement source 245, adapted to generate a quantum entangled groupof objects, e.g., a qubit and/or a group of qubits. One or more membersof the quantum entangled group of objects can be physically transportedto one or more target locations via an entanglement distribution system246 a. According to the illustrative example, the entanglementdistribution system 246 a includes one or more quantum channels, orlinks 247 a, 247 b, 247 c, adapted to transport one or more of themembers of the quantum entangled group of objects. It is understood thatthe entanglement distribution system 246 a can include at least oneconfigurable element, such as a switch and/or a router adapted toselectively control the distribution of the quantum entangled group ofobjects. According to the illustrative example, the entanglementdistribution system 246 a includes an entanglement distribution network246.

In general, the entanglement distribution network 246 facilitatesdistribution of one or more qubits from the qubit source 245, to one ormore of the quantum enabled nodes 242 a, 242 b of the communicationsnodes 241. The entanglement distribution network 246 can include one ormore switches, routers, and/or other configurable network elementsadapted to establish quantum channel links. Depending upon aconfiguration of the entanglement distribution network 246, one or moreof the quantum entangled group of objects can be selectively directed toone or more locations, such as the first processing node 241 a, thesecond processing node 241 b, or both the first and second processingnodes 241 a, 241 b, via one or more of the quantum channels 247 a, 247b, 247 c, generally 247.

According to the illustrative embodiment, the QAs 243 can exchangequantum state information via a classical channel over one or more ofthe quantum links 247, e.g., also foregoing the need for a separateand/or independent classical communications channel. For applications inwhich the quantum links include fiber optic links, the quantum stateinformation can be communicated over the quantum link 247 via aclassical communication channel, e.g., independent from transport of aquantum entangled photon over the same link. Likewise, the controller244 can communicate with the quantum distribution network 246 via aclassical channel over the quantum link 247, e.g., foregoing the needfor a separate and/or independent quantum channel signaling network.

Any of the elements, such as the QAs, 243, the controller 244, and/orthe QENs 242 can be preconfigured with a list of QENs 242, such as alist of QENs 242 accessible by the quantum distribution network 246,connectivity tables, logic and/or policies adapted to implement, controland/or otherwise manage quantum entanglement distribution, e.g., asdisclosed in reference to FIG. 2A.

FIG. 2F is a block diagram illustrating an example, non-limitingembodiment of yet another quantum entanglement distribution system 250functioning within the communication network of FIG. 1 in accordancewith various aspects described herein. The system 250 includes a firstcommunication node 251 and a second communication node 252. Thecommunication nodes 251, 252 are in communication with a core network,e.g., a mobility core network, or core cloud 253, via a hubcommunication node 254. The core cloud 253 can include one or morecomponents grouped according to their supported functionalities, such asa mobile core 255 a, an IP backbone 255 b, a video distribution core 255c, one or more single video sources 255 d, an IMS voice core 255 e, etc.The communication nodes 251, 252 and hub node 254 can include one ormore of a radio processing (RP) subsystem, 256, 256′, an augmentationsubsystem 257, 257′, 257″ and a switch subsystem 258, 258′, 258″.

The first communication node 251 is in communication with one or moreremote radio frequency (RF) sites 259 a, 259 b, which, in turn, can bein communication with one or more wireless, e.g., mobile communicationdevices 262, such as mobile phones, tablet devices, laptop devices,machines, e.g., according to machine-to-machine (M2M), or machine-typecommunications in an Internet of Things (IoT) application, and the like,via radio access networks (RANs), e.g., according to 3G, 4G 5Gstandards/applications, and the like, wireless access points, e.g.,according to wireless network standards/applications, such as IEEE802.11 wireless networks. Likewise, the second communication node 252 isin communication with one or more remote radio frequency (RF) sites 260a, 260 b, which, in turn, can be in communication with one or morewireless, e.g., mobile communication devices via radio access networks(RANs). According to the illustrative example, the second communicationnode 252 is in further communication with a wireline site 261, such as ahousehold, a business, a public facility, and so on, which can be incommunication with one or more communication devices 263, including anyof the example devices disclosed herein or otherwise known to thoseskilled in the art. The wireline site 261 can be in communication withthe second communication node 252 via any suitable communicationnetwork, such as cable, optical fiber, twisted pair, e.g., DSL.

The quantum entanglement distribution system 250 includes a quantumcontroller 264, a quantum source, e.g., qubit source 265, and a quantumcontrol network 266. The quantum controller is adapted to configure oneor more of the quantum control network 266 and the quantum source 265 togenerate quantum entangled objects, e.g., photons and to distribute themto one or more communication nodes 251, 253, 254 via quantum channels,all responsive to a request to establish entanglement between at leasttwo predetermined communication nodes 251, 252, 254.

Any of the elements, such as the QAs, 253, the controller 254, and/orthe QENs 272 can be preconfigured with a list of QENs 272, such as alist of QENs 272 accessible by the quantum distribution network,connectivity tables, logic and/or policies adapted to implement, controland/or otherwise manage quantum entanglement distribution, e.g., asdisclosed in reference to FIG. 2A.

According to the illustrative example that uses photons as entanglementobjects, the quantum source 265 includes a laser, e.g., a pump laser267, and a qubit source, e.g., an EPR source 268. The pump laser 267 andthe EPR source 268 cooperate, at a request of the quantum controller264, to generate at least one quantum entangled pair of photons.According to the illustrative example, a first entangled pair includes afirst entangled photon 270 a and a second entangled photon 270 b.Likewise, a second entangled pair of photons includes a first entangledphoton 271 a and a second entangled photon 271 b.

The qubit source 265 can be configured to generate single photons orsingle entangled photon pairs. Alternatively or in addition, the qubitsource 265 can be configured to generate groups of photons to obtaingroups of photon pairs. Timing can be important in quantum applications,e.g., quantum teleportation, Bell state measurements, and the like, suchthat Bell state measurements can be performed on members of the sameentangled pair or group of entangled qubits. Timing can be managed inone or more ways. For example, pulsed sources can send out photons indiscrete bunches. For at least some applications, such as entanglementswapping, pulsed sources can be synchronized to emit the photon bunchesat a precise time. Alternatively or in addition, continuous photonsources can be used to alleviate at least some of the timingrequirements. For continuous sources, photons with a proper timing canbe obtained not when they are emitted, but when they are later detected,e.g., by separate detectors. A detectors' temporal resolution (theprecision of its measurements with respect to time) can allow photonsthat were emitted at a particular time to be post selected.

In at least some embodiments, the system 250 includes a multiplexer,such as a wavelength division multiplexer (WDM). Example WDMs includecoarse WDM (CWDM), e.g., with channel spacing of about 20 nm, and denseWDM (DWDM), e.g., with a finer channel spacing. Data signals, e.g.,entangled photons generated according to different wavelengths, can becombined together into a multi-wavelength optical signal using such anoptical multiplexer, for transmission over a single fiber. Accordingly,a single optical fiber can be adapted to simultaneously support multiplequantum channel, each operating at a different wavelength. If the firstentangled pair of photons 270 a, 270 b, generally 270, is generatedaccording to a first wavelength and the second entangled pair of photons271 a, 271 b, generally 271 is generated according to a secondwavelength different from the first, then both pair 270, 271 may bedistributed simultaneously along the same quantum channel or fiber,according to an optical multiplexing of the WDM 269.

The first communication node 251 includes a first quantum enabled node(QEN) 272 a. Likewise, the second and third communication nodes 252, 254include respective QENs 272 c, 272 e. Other communication nodes, such asmay be contained in the core cloud 253 and/or in one or morepoint-of-presence (POP) optical nodes 276, also include QENs 272 b, 272c, 272 e. According to the illustrative embodiment, the POP optical node276 can include more than one QEN 272 b, 272 d, to support multiplequantum channels simultaneously. It is understood that in at least someembodiments, the POP optical node 276 can include a WDM (not shown) tofacilitate simultaneous quantum channels along a common fiber, operatingat different wavelengths.

Each of the QENs 272 a, 272 b, 272 c, 272 d, 272 e, 272 f, generally272, is associated with a respective quantum agent (QA) 273 a, 273 b,273 c, 273 d, 273 e, 273 f, generally 273. The QAs 273 are adapted toimplement functionality that supports distribution and/or applicationsinvolving quantum entanglement, such as entanglement distribution, qubitmeasurements, qubit storage, quantum teleportation, quantum encryption,quantum computing, and the like. Accordingly, the QAs 273 are incommunication with their respective QENs 272. In at least someembodiments, one or more of the QAs 273 are in further communicationwith one or more of the quantum controller 264, the quantum controlnetwork 266, the qubit source 265 and/or one or more other QAs 273.Communications between the QAs 273 and one or more of the other elements264, 265, 266, 273 can be accomplished via classical communicationchannels, e.g., using available communication resources, such as thosepresent in the communication nodes 251, 252, 254. According to theillustrative example, one or more of the communication nodes 251, 252,254 are in communication via a network 275, such as a backhaul networkof a mobile carrier service, e.g., a 5G service, a fiber ring, theInternet, or any other public and/or private network alone or incombination.

The quantum entanglement distribution system 250 establishes quantumentanglement distribution for a quantum channel. Like any other network,such as IP network, one or more of the QA nodes 273, the QENs 272 andthe EPR node 265 can be pre-provisioned with pre-built logic, includingthe entanglement distribution tables. In general, for quantumcommunication applications, two channels are provided between the sourceand the destination: a quantum link, or quantum channel, and a classicallink or classical channel. The quantum channel is adapted to transportentangled photons according to a predetermined destination and along adetermined path, without disturbing the quantum information of thetransported particles, e.g., photons.

Described below is an example message flow for the illustrative quantumentanglement distribution system 250. Upon receiving an incomingconnection request at the first communication node 251, e.g., from aradio interface of the RAN of an RF site 259, a QA 273 a associated withthe communication node 251 determines that a quantum connection isrequired for associated traffic with a remote node, e.g., the POP node276. Based on a pre-determined logic and/or policy, the first QA 273 anotifies a default master EPR source node 265 that a qubits generationis required, and that the an entanglement distribution of the entangledqubits is required between a source QEN 202 a of the first communicationnode 251 and a destination QEN of the destination node 276. The EPR node265 generates the entangled qubits 271 a, 271 b and sends a qubit 271 aof the entangled qubits 271 to the source QEN 272 a and a second qubit272 b of the entangled qubit pair 271 to the destination QEN 272 b.Although the EPR generation node 265 is illustrated as a separate andindependent node, requiring a quantum channel between itself and bothendpoint QENs 272 a, 272 b, it is understood that in at least someembodiments, the EPR generation node 265 can be collocated with the QEN272 a of the source communication node 251. For example, in an initialdeployment of this feature, e.g., with a limited number of possiblequantum channels or links, such a collocated source can be used in aneffort to keep the cost and/or complexity down.

Now the entangled link (that is quantum channel) has been establishedbetween the source QEN and the destination QEN. The classical channelcould be using the same path or any other path and this could bebusiness as usual. The destination QEN will wait for the data (quantumstate status) from the source QEN via the classical channel.

The illustrative architecture of the example quantum entanglementdistribution system 250 can be employed in a fiber optic network, suchas a, so-called, deep fiber optical network architecture that extendsfrom a centralized network, such as a mobile carrier backbone network,proximate to one or more wireless access points, e.g., to residences,office buildings, public facilities, such as airports, parks, andgovernment buildings, commercial facilities, such as stores, shoppingcenters and the like, schools and other educational institutions, and soon, for entanglement distribution. For applications including free spaceoptical channels, it is envisioned that the deep-fiber concept can beextend to untethered access points, such as vehicles, e.g., airplanes,trains, ships, trucking, automobiles, satellites, and the like.

According to the present disclosure, a typical telecommunicationinfrastructure by employing a local QA in each QEN, e.g., off of the(metropolitan) optical fiber network, that manages the interaction witha single source of EPR (qubits generation) node in order to createentangled link between source and destination nodes. Based on theinstruction of the QA of the source quantum enabled node, EPR sourcenode creates the entangled qubits (photons) and distributes them amongthe two quantum enabled remotes nodes interfacing with the fiber ring(such as the deep fiber supporting a RAN (5G). The architecture allowssimultaneous transmission of classical and quantum signals for theclassical and quantum channels respectively in the fiber network andprovides a local QA enabled simple routing mechanism to serve the entiredeep fiber vicinity.

FIG. 2G is a block diagram illustrating an example, non-limitingembodiment of a communication network 300 including a quantumentanglement distribution system in accordance with various aspectsdescribed herein. The example communication network 300 operates in aservice provider-subscriber scenario, providing communicationconnectivity between service provider resources, e.g., a cable headend302 and end-user devices 304. End-user devices can include, withoutlimitation, network-enabled premises equipment, such as mobile devices,home theater devices, e.g., smart TVs, computers, gaming systems,residential gateways, LANs, and appliances, such as motion sensors,lighting, security systems, heating/air conditioning, garage dooropeners, and the like. Media content, such as multicast and/or broadcastcontent and/or data can be provided via one or more first communicationlinks 308 from a centralized cable headend 302 to one or more regionaland/or local nodes, such as the example hub nodes 306 a, 306 b,generally 306.

Example media content can include broadcast media, such aspre-programmed television channels, cable television line-ups, and/orstreaming media, including video and/or audio. For example, mediacontent, such as video channels, network TV channels, gaming content,immersive video, e.g., augmented reality and/or virtual reality, and thelike can be received at the cable headend 302 via one or more downstreamlinks 310, 311. Cable lineups and the like can be assembled, e.g.,combining content obtained at the headend from different downstreamlinks 310, 311 and in at least some instances, inserting or otherwiseintegrating supplemental content, such as commercial advertisements. Byway of example, the second communication link 312 can include a firstportion that transports downstream video content 314 a, a second portionthat transports downstream data 314 b, e.g., traffic destined for acable modem from the Internet, and a third portion that transportsupstream data 314 c, e.g., traffic destined for the Internet from cablemodems, the upstream traffic originating at customer premises 316 and/orend-user devices 304.

The example headend 302 includes converged-cable-access-platform (CCAP)core 320, adapted to assemble media content for distribution to the oneor more hub nodes 306, which in turn can modify the received content,e.g., inserting local programming, such as local television and/or cablechannels, local advertisements, and the like, before distribution tosubscriber equipment, e.g., the end-user devices 304 via one or moresecond communication links 312. The example CCAP core 320 includes acable modem termination system (CMTS) 322, which provides high-speeddata services, such as cable Internet or Voice over Internet Protocol(VoIP), to cable subscribers. In some embodiments, the CMTS 322 one ormore of an Ethernet interface, a high-speed data interface, e.g., SONET,or an RF interface, e.g., to communicate with subscriber cable modemsvia the cable company's hybrid fiber coax (HFC) system 325. Trafficcoming from an upstream source, e.g., via an Internet connection at theheadend 302, can be routed (and/or bridged) through an Ethernetinterface of the CMTS 322 and then onto one or more fiber and/or RFinterfaces that are connected to the HFC system 325. The example CCAPcore 320 further includes an edge QAM (EQAM) 324 as an examplephysical-layer (PHY) downstream component supporting digital televisionor cable channels. The CCAP core 320 can communication with remotephysical-layer (PHY) equipment 318 at the one or more hub nodes 306 viathe one or more first communication links 308, which can includedownstream video, downstream data and/or upstream data, e.g., accordingto Layer 2 protocols, such as Ethernet links, L2TPv3 tunnels, high-speeddata interfaces, such as SONET, RF interfaces, and the like.

The hub-node physical-layer equipment 318 can communicate withdownstream equipment, such as one or more of cable modems, channelequipment, residential gateways, other hub nodes, end-user devices, andso on. According to the example system, the hub-node, physical-layerequipment 318 communicates with the downstream equipment and/or devicesvia a hybrid fiber-coaxial (HFC) infrastructure 325, using coaxial cablelinks 326 a, 326 b, generally 326, fiber links, or a combinationthereof. Data exchange over the HFC infrastructure 325 can terminate atone or more customer premises cable modems 328 a, 328 b, generally 328.According to the illustrative example, the cable modems operateaccording to a Data Over Cable Service Interface Specification (DOCSIS),e.g., versions 1.0 through 4.0—an international telecommunicationsstandard that permits the addition of high-bandwidth data transfer to anexisting cable television system.

The example communication network 300 also includes quantum enabledelements adapted to establish and/or otherwise support an exchangeand/or processing of information according to manipulations and/ormeasurements of quantum states of objects. According to the illustrativeembodiments provide herein, and without limitation, the objects caninclude photons, and the quantum states of the photons can include oneor more of polarization, spin, or orbital angular momentum. As disclosedherein, pairs of photons, or more generally groups of photons, can begenerated and/or otherwise manipulated into an entangled state in whicha measurement performed upon one member of the entangled group inducesan immediate effect on other members of the group, regardless of theirphysical separation. The example network 300 includes one or morequantum enabled modules or nodes that are adapted to perform one or moreof generation of entangled objects, transmission and/or reception ofentangled objects, measurements associated with quantum states of theentangled objects, storage of the entangled objects, processing of theentangled objects, e.g., according to quantum logical gates, and thelike.

According to the illustrative example, the CCAP core 320 of the headend302 includes, and/or is associated with, a first quantum enabled node(QN_1) 330 a, the physical-layer equipment 318 of the hub node 306 aincludes, and/or is associated with, a second quantum enabled node(QN_2) 330 b, the cable modem 328 a includes, and/or is associated with,a third quantum enabled node (QN_3) 330 c and the headend itselfincludes, and/or is associated with, a fourth quantum enabled node(QN_4) 330 d. Each of the quantum enabled nodes 330 a-330 d, generally330, is in communication with one or more other devices, such as one ormore of the other quantum enabled nodes 330. Communications betweenquantum enabled nodes can be supported by one or more quantum links orchannels adapted for transporting one or more quantum entangled objects.The quantum links or channels can be selected, configure and/orotherwise established, such that transportation of quantum entangledobjects over the quantum links or channels can be accomplished withoutdestroying or otherwise disturbing quantum entanglement of thetransported object. For applications in which the objects are photons,the quantum channels can include optical fiber and/or free-space linksor channels.

In addition to the quantum links or channels involving the quantumenabled nodes 330, the network 300 also provides one or more classical,or traditional communication channels, such that each of the quantumenabled nodes 330 can be in simultaneous, or overlapping, communicationwith one or more other devices, e.g., other quantum enabled nodes 330,via a quantum channel and a classical channel. In some embodiments, thequantum channel is physically separate and distinct from the classicalcommunication channel. Alternatively or in addition, one portion of thequantum channel can be separate, while another portion can share aphysical transport means supporting the classical channel. In at leastsome embodiments, the quantum channel and the classical communicationchannel can be supported by the same physical transport means, e.g.,optical fiber and/or free space.

The classical communication channel is adapted to share informationrelated to one or more of a quantum state of a quantum entangled object,a measurement performed upon the quantum entangled object, or moregenerally, any information related to the quantum entangled object;whereas, the quantum channel supports transport of a quantum entangledobject. At least some quantum services, such as quantum teleportation,rely upon both a transportation of the entangled object via the quantumchannel and a sharing of entanglement information coincident with theestablished entanglement between nodes. It is understood that if eitherof the quantum or classical channels are compromised, success of thequantum operation, e.g., quantum teleportation, can be jeopardized.

In at least some embodiments, the network 300 includes a quantum servicecontroller 332 adapted to facilitate establishment of one or more of thequantum channel or the classical channel in support of a quantumoperation. The quantum service controller 332 can be in communicationwith a signaling network 334 in communication with the one or morequantum enabled nodes 330. The quantum service controller 332 can beconfigured with network information, including information related tothe quantum enabled nodes 330, such as one or more of their identities,e.g., network addresses, their locations, accessible supportingcommunication infrastructure, e.g., optical fibers, WDMs, add/dropmultiplexers, free space optical channels, related operatingwavelengths, power levels, owners, operators, their proximity to othersystems or devices, such as to the headend 301, the CCPA core 320, thehub node 306 a and/or the residential cable modem 328 a. Otherinformation can include current utilization data, such as quantumentanglement participation and/or status of individual quantum enablenodes 330 and/or groups of nodes 330, existing and/or previously usedquantum channels, performance data, such as present and/or past successrates and/or failure rates, e.g., error rates, signal to noise ratios,congestion, capacity, cable and/or free space attenuation, dispersion,interference, and the like. Alternatively or in addition, theinformation can include a quantum service provider identifier,applicable cost and/or rates, and so on.

The quantum service controller 332 can be adapted to respond to requestfor quantum services, by facilitating a provisioning and/orconfiguration of supporting infrastructure, such as activation and/orengagement of quantum enabled nodes 330, identification and/orestablishment of switching and/or routing paths, and the like. In atleast some embodiments, it is envisioned that more than one quantumchannel may be available or otherwise configurable between two or morequantum enable nodes 330. For example, a first quantum channel may besupportable between two quantum enabled nodes 330 via existing fiberoptic infrastructure, e.g., a fiber ring of a metropolitan fiber networkand/or a fiber channel of the HFC infrastructure 325. Alternatively orin addition, a second quantum channel may be supportable between thesame two quantum enabled nodes 330 via a free space infrastructure, suchas a free space terrestrial communication infrastructure and/or freespace satellite communication infrastructure.

The quantum service controller 332 can be configured to implement logicand/or policies adapted to identify one or more quantum channels forsupporting a quantum service, e.g., quantum teleportation, between atleast two quantum enabled nodes 330, e.g., a source node and adestination node. In at least some embodiments, identification of thequantum channels can include identification of more than one availablequantum channels between the source and destination. The more than oneavailable quantum channels can include different network paths, e.g.,different routes. The different network paths or routes can include thesame type of infrastructure, e.g., fiber optic networks. For example, afirst route may include a single fiber optic link between the source anddestination, e.g., without a repeater, whereas, a second route mayinclude a quantum repeater. Alternatively or in addition, the differentnetwork paths or routes can include different types of infrastructures.For example, a first route may include a fiber optic link between thesource and destination, whereas, a second route may include a free spaceoptical link, such as a satellite link.

One of the more than one available channels can be selected by thecontroller 332 based upon selection criteria. It is understood that thedifferent paths may include different path lengths, power levels,interference, utilization, policy restrictions, e.g., being reserved forcertain classes of communications and/or using entities, e.g.,subscribers. Selection criteria can include, without limitation,performance criteria, such as path loss, path distance, routing and/orswitching configuration, e.g., numbers and/or types of switched pathsand/or routed segments. It is understood that physical constraintsgenerally limit propagation distances to a maximum distance, beyondwhich reliable transport of quantum entangled objects, e.g., photons,cannot be assured. If the separation distance, e.g., fiber optical cabledistance, between the source and destination exceeds such a maximumdistance, network path including at least one repeater may be necessary.Alternatively or in addition, selection criteria can include applicableservice level agreements (SLA), quality of service (QoS) requirementsand/or measurements, cost, e.g., metered rates, lease rates, accessrates, communication service providers, data sensitivity, securityrequirements, user preferences, subscription levels, and so on.

According to the illustrative example, the controller 332 selects and/orconfigures a quantum channel 336 between the first quantum enabled nodeQN_1 330 a located at the headend 302 and the third quantum enabled nodeQN_3 330 c located at the subscriber end of the HFC infrastructure ornetwork 325, e.g., at the cable modem 328 a. The quantum channel 336 isestablished via an intermediate node, in this instance, a satellite 338.Accordingly, the quantum channel 336 includes a first satellite linksegment or hop 340 a between the first quantum enabled node QN_1 330 aand the satellite 338 and a second satellite link segment or hop 340 bbetween the satellite 338 and the third quantum enabled node QN_3 330 c.In at least some embodiments, the satellite 338 can include a quantumrepeater 342. The quantum repeater 342 can be configured to perform anentanglement swapping operation or service, e.g., in which another groupof quantum entangled objects, such as another pair of entangled photons,is introduced to extend quantum entanglement between the end nodes 330a, 330 c.

In some embodiments, the satellite 338 includes a directional controlthat permits the satellite 338 to aim a beam of quantum entangledparticles towards one or more selected nodes 330 a, 330 c of a landnetwork, such as the example HFC network 325. In some embodiments, thesatellite 338 can include one or more free space quantum transmitters349, with each being capable of being independently directed, e.g.,aimed, to provide a beam of quantum particles to different ones of thenodes 330 a, 330 c. For example, the free space quantum transmitter 349can distribute encryption key symbols to one or more land network nodes330 via a free space link. It is understood that the satellite 338 mayinclude a processing unit, a memory, an input device, an output device,a free space quantum transmitter 349, an RF transceiver and a bus.Although a satellite is disclosed as a quantum repeater node, it isenvisioned that other devices, such as other terrestrial nodes canprovide a quantum repeater function alone or in combination with thesatellite 338.

The free-space quantum transmitter 349 may include a quantum source, aquantum modulator and an optional quantum beam directional control unit.The quantum source may emit quantum particles, such as, for example,photons. In at least some embodiments, the quantum source may include aphoton source such as, for example, a laser. The quantum modulator canmodulate a state of each quantum particle emitted by quantum source toencode each quantum particle with information, such as an encryption keysymbol value. In at least some embodiments, the quantum modulator canmodulate a phase and/or polarization and/or energy of emitted photons.For example, the quantum modulator may include a Mach-Zehnderinterferometer that may modulate the phase of emitted photons to encodeeach photon with a symbol value, e.g., an encryption key value.

In at least some embodiments, such an extended range quantumentanglement architecture can be configured according to nestedentanglement swapping. For example, an extended range quantumentanglement link or channel can be configured or otherwise establishedby combining, joining, interconnecting, and/or otherwise splicingtogether shorter-distance quantum links. The shorter links can beadapted to transport quantum entangled objects, e.g., photons, resultingin an overall longer-distance entanglement. This facilitates quantumentanglement between nodes separated by distances beyond that whichwould otherwise be achievable using a simple, point-to-point link. Suchlonger distance links can be accomplished with “n” steps for “2n” hopsof comparable quality.

Information based on a quantum state of a quantum entangled pair ofphotons shared via the quantum channel 336 is likewise shared accordingto a classical communication channel. According to the illustrativeexample, a classical communication channel 344 is established betweenthe source and destination nodes 330 a, 330 c via the firstcommunication links 308 between the centralized cable headend 302 andthe hub node 306, and via the HFC network 325. The controller 332 can beadapted to select and/or configure the classical communication channel344. For example, in some embodiments, the controller 332 can applysimilar logic and/or policies to identify, establish or otherwiseconfigure the classical channel 334. Alternatively or in addition, thecontroller 332 can apply different logic and/or policies to identify,establish or otherwise configure the classical channel 334. For example,classical channels might not be constrained by a maximum photon decaylength, as amplification can be applied without concern as tomaintaining quantum entanglement of photons used in the classicalchannel.

The process of entanglement swapping, can be considered as a splicingtogether of two relatively short-distance entangled pairs of photons,e.g., Bell pairs, into one longer-distance Bell pair. Quantum swappingcan be considered as a form of teleportation, e.g., it can be viewed asusing a first Bell pair established between the first quantum enablednode QN_1 330 a and the satellite 338, via the first hop 340 a, toteleport quantum information, e.g., a qubit to the third quantum enablednode QN_3 330 c. Related information can be exchanged between the twoends 330 a, 330 c of the quantum channel 336 and/or between either orboth ends 330 a, 330 c and the satellite 338 via a traditional orclassical channel. Accordingly, each quantum entanglement swappingoperation step can increase, e.g., double, the span of or a singleentangled Bell pair.

Continuing with the illustrative example, a first message is received atthe headend 203, e.g., at the CCAP core 320. The message may be receivedvia the CMTS 322, via the EQAM 324, and/or via any other means at theheadend 320. In some examples, the message might originate at theheadend 302, e.g., from a local operation and/or maintenance systemand/or terminal. Upon receiving the message, the first quantum enablednode QN_1 330 a can performs table lookup, e.g., according to a nativetable pre-populated by a software defined network (SDN) 346. Dependingupon results of the table lookup, the quantum enabled node QN_1 330 ainitiates a quantum entanglement path selection. In at least someembodiments, the quantum enabled node QN_1 330 a generates quantumentangled group of objects, e.g., a Bell pair. After generating the Bellpair, the satellite 338 is contacted in anticipation of itsparticipation in a quantum channel. For example, a message, e.g., arequest and/or a configuration message, can be sent to the satellite 338providing notification that a quantum entanglement swapping operationwill be required. In at least some embodiments, the message identifiesone or more of a source quantum enabled node and a destination quantumenabled node. It is understood that in at least some applications, thequantum channel is bi-directional, such that quantum entanglementswapping can be performed according to Bell pairs originating at either,or both nodes.

In response to the request, the satellite 338 establishes a quantumconnection with the second quantum enabled node QN_3 330 c, e.g., usinga Bell pair. In at least some embodiments, the Bell pair can begenerated at the satellite 338. Having access to the entanglementswapping is performed at s (satellite) to establish E2E virtual Quantumlink between QN1 and QN2.

In at least some embodiments, the system 300 includes a software definednetwork (SDN) architecture 345. According to at least some embodimentsof an SDN architecture 345, a control plane of the network 300 can beseparate from a data forwarding plane, so as to control underlyinghardware in a programmable manner, e.g., by using a software platform ona centralized SDN controller 346 that controls or orchestrates acommissioning, a decommissioning and/or a distribution of networkresources in a responsive manner according to requirements.

According to the SDN network architecture 345, a network device may onlybe responsible for data forwarding, for example, using commodityhardware. An operating system that is originally responsible for controlcan be promoted to an independent network operating system, and isresponsible for adapting to different service features. Alternatively oraddition, communication among the network operating system, one or moreof a service feature or a hardware device can be implemented throughprogramming.

In at least some embodiments, a forwarding plane includes a controlledforwarding device, and a control application that controls forwardingmanner and service logic that run on the control plane separated fromthe forwarding plane. In some embodiments, the SDN architecture 345 canprovide an open programmable interface for the control plane. Thisallows the control application to focus on logic of the controlapplication, without necessarily having to focus on more underlyingimplementation details. The SDN controller 346 can implement a logicallycentralized control plane that can control one or more forwarding planedevices that can, in at least some instances, control an entire physicalnetwork, so that a global network status view can be obtained, andoptimized control can be implemented for the network based on the globalnetwork status view.

In at least some embodiments, the control unit 346 can orchestrate dataplane resources, e.g., maintaining a network topology and statusinformation, and the like. In at least some embodiments, the controlunite 346 can be responsible for data processing and forwarding andstatus collection based on a flow table. According to SDN techniques,the SDN architecture 346 can provide device resource virtualizationand/or programmable commodity hardware and software. The supporting SDNhardware can focus on forwarding and storage capabilities, e.g.,including quantum services, allowing the particular devices to bedecoupled from a service feature. In the SDN architecture 345,intelligence of at least the quantum enabled services of the network 300can be implemented by software, e.g., quantum agents, alone or incombination with quantum enabled nodes. The SDN architecture 345 allowsthe network 300 to respond to a quantum enabled service request morequickly, such that various services can be flexibly added, deleted,and/or customized, so that various network parameters can be customizedand configured in the network in real time, and a time for opening aspecific service is shortened.

In addition to the SDN architecture 345, a centralized management andcontrol network may be another same or similar network, for example, atransport network, a router network, an access network, or a wirelessnetwork that is based on a unified network management and controlsystem. A centralized controller in the embodiments of this applicationcan be an apparatus in the centralized management and control network,for example, may be an SDN controller 346 in the SDN architecture,and/or the quantum service controller 332 and/or or may be a networkmanagement server in the HFC network 325, transport network, the routernetwork, the access network, or the wireless network

FIG. 2H depicts an illustrative embodiment of a process 280 inaccordance with various aspects described herein. A processing requestis received at 281. The processing request can be received, e.g., by aQA and or a quantum entanglement controller. The processing request canidentify one or more of a source node, e.g., a first communication nodeof a communication link, a processing node of a processing link, and thelike, sometimes referred to herein as a source node. For requestsreceived at a QA of the source node, identification of the source nodecan be determined by the association of the QA with the source node,e.g., inference. For requests requiring processing on one or more othernodes, the request may identify one or more of the one or more othernodes. For example, a request for communication between a source nodeand destination node may identify the destination node. For applicationsin which communications between the source and destination include oneor more intermediate nodes, the intermediate nodes may be included orotherwise identified within the request. In at least some embodimentsthe need and/or identification of intermediate nodes need not beidentified within the request, e.g., being determined by another entity,such as the quantum entanglement controller, a quantum network and/orlink.

It is understood that in at least some embodiments, the request does notindicate or otherwise identify any requirement for quantum entanglement.In this regard, an evaluation can be performed at 282 to determinewhether the request is associated with quantum entanglementrequirements. For example, quantum entanglement requirements can dependupon one or more of a source node identity and/or location, adestination node identity and/or location, an information source, e.g.,sending user and/or destination, e.g., recipient user, sensitivity ofthe information to be processed, e.g., communicated, historicalinformation obtained from previous processing requests, the quantity ofinformation to be processed, time sensitivity of the processing, networkstatus, e.g., traffic congestion, message delays, interference,capacity, and so on. In at least some embodiments, the request itselfmay identify that quantum entanglement is necessary, preferred and/orunnecessary, as the case may be.

A determination is made at 283 as to the existence of any quantumentanglement requirements for the requested connection, e.g., accordingto the results of the evaluation performed at 282. The evaluation at 282and/or the determination at 283 can be performed according topre-configured logic, policies and/or programming at one or more of theQA of the source node, a quantum entanglement controller, or a QA ofanother node, or in a distributed manner across different QAs and/or oneor more QAs and the quantum entanglement controller.

To the extent it is determined at 283 that there are no quantumentanglement requirements, the requested connection is permitted at 284to proceed via one or more classical communication channels, e.g.,telecommunication channels, computer network channels, packet switchednetworks, circuit switched networks, the Internet, local area networks,public networks private networks, fiber optic networks, such as SONET,cable networks, satellite networks, and the like. Establishment of oneor more classical communication channels can be provided at 285. Forexample, a channel can be requested, configured and/or otherwiseidentified according to one or more of the source and the destination.In at least some embodiments, selection and/or establishment of aparticular classical channel may also depend upon one or more of asource node identity and/or location, a destination node identity and/orlocation, an information source, e.g., sending user and/or destination,e.g., recipient user, sensitivity of the information to be processed,e.g., communicated, historical information obtained from previousprocessing requests, the quantity of information to be processed, timesensitivity of the processing, network status, e.g., traffic congestion,message delays, interference, capacity, and so on.

To the extent it is determined at 283 that there do exist quantumentanglement requirements, one or more QENs are identified at 286. Forexample, a QEN of a processing node adapted to serve the requestedprocessing may include or otherwise be associated with a QEN. Similarly,first and second QENs may be identified according to a source node and adestination node of a requested communication processing. It isenvisioned that in at least some instances, one or more intermediatenodes, e.g., between the source and destination nodes, may be required.

In at least some embodiments, identification of the network nodes at 286can be performed according to pre-configured logic, policies and/orprogramming at one or more of the QA of the source node, a quantumentanglement controller, or a QA of another node, or in a distributedmanner across different QAs and/or one or more QAs and the quantumentanglement controller. For example, a determination of a processingnode, such as a destination node of a communication processing requestmay depend upon the destination node having an associated QA and/or QEN.If an identified destination node is not provided with quantumentanglement capabilities, the request may be denied, and/or altered,e.g., according to the pre-configured logic or policies, to identify areplacement processing node including quantum entanglement capabilities.For example, a replacement node may be selected based upon a physicalproximity to the original node. To the extent that intermediate nodesmay be required, e.g., quantum repeaters, identification of the networknodes at 286 can be adapted to minimize complexity, e.g., by avoidingand/or minimizing a number of network nodes, e.g., intermediate nodes,that may be required.

Generation of one or more quantum entangled objects is facilitated at287. Generation of quantum entangled objects can include any process orprocesses generally known to those skilled in the art, such as theexample photon entanglement sources disclosed herein. Other examples ofquantum entangled object sources are provide in U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 16/426,891, filed on May 30, 2019 and entitled “System andMethod for Provisioning of Entangled-Photon Pairs” and Ser. No.16/211,809, filed on Dec. 6, 2018, and entitled “Free-Space, TwistedLight Optical Communication System.” All sections of the aforementionedapplication(s) and patent(s) are incorporated herein by reference intheir entirety.

One or more quantum channels are configured at 287. Quantum channels caninclude any communication channel or link adapted to transport a quantumentangled object, such as an entangled photon, without destroying orotherwise disturbing the entangled quantum state of a transportedquantum entangled object to render it useless. Examples includeselection of one or more point-to-point fiber optic links, free-spaceoptical links, e.g., between QENs and/or between one or more QENs and aquantum entanglement source. Alternatively or in addition, configurationcan include configuring one or more fiber optic networks, e.g., ringnetworks, star networks, and/or mesh networks, including any of theexamples disclosed herein, equivalents, and the like, e.g., providingswitch control and/or signaling commands.

Transport of one or more quantum entangled objects via the one or moreconfigured quantum channels is facilitated at 287. For example, aquantum entanglement source is configured to distribute one entangledobject, i.e., entangled photon, of a quantum entangled group of objectsto a QEN of a source node, and another entangled object, i.e., photon,of the same quantum entangled group of objects to another QEN of adestination node. For applications involving intermediate nodes, e.g.,quantum repeaters, transportation can include providing one or moreadditional quantum entangled objects to the intermediate node, e.g.,repeater to facilitate entanglement swapping to support extension of aquantum enabled state between a source node and a destination nodeseparate by a distance greater than can be physically realized using asingle pair of quantum entangled objects, i.e., photons.

FIG. 2I depicts an illustrative embodiment of a process 350 inaccordance with various aspects described herein. A request forprocessing between two nodes is received at 351. The processing requestcan be received, e.g., by a QA and or a quantum entanglement controller.The processing request can identify one or more of a source node, e.g.,a first communication node of a communication link, a processing node ofa processing link, and the like, sometimes referred to herein as asource node. For requests received at a QA of the source node,identification of the source node can be determined by the associationof the QA with the source node, e.g., inference. For requests requiringprocessing on one or more other nodes, the request may identify one ormore of the one or more other nodes. For example, a request forcommunication between a source node and destination node may identifythe destination node. For applications in which communications betweenthe source and destination include one or more intermediate nodes, theintermediate nodes may be included or otherwise identified within therequest. In at least some embodiments the need and/or identification ofintermediate nodes need not be identified within the request, e.g.,being determined by another entity, such as the quantum entanglementcontroller, a quantum network and/or link.

It is understood that in at least some embodiments, the request does notindicate or otherwise identify any requirement for quantum entanglement.In this regard, an evaluation can be performed at 352 to determinewhether the request is associated with quantum entanglementrequirements. For example, quantum entanglement requirements can dependupon one or more of a source node identity and/or location, adestination node identity and/or location, an information source, e.g.,sending user and/or destination, e.g., recipient user, sensitivity ofthe information to be processed, e.g., communicated, historicalinformation obtained from previous processing requests, the quantity ofinformation to be processed, time sensitivity of the processing, networkstatus, e.g., traffic congestion, message delays, interference,capacity, and so on. In at least some embodiments, the request itselfmay identify that quantum entanglement is necessary, preferred and/orunnecessary, as the case may be.

A determination is made at 353 as to the existence of any quantumentanglement requirements for the requested connection, e.g., accordingto the results of the evaluation performed at 352. The evaluation at 352and/or the determination at 353 can be performed according topre-configured logic, policies and/or programming at one or more of theQA of the source node, a quantum entanglement controller, or a QA ofanother node, or in a distributed manner across different QAs and/or oneor more QAs and the quantum entanglement controller. One or more of theQAs can be pre-provisioned by the SDN with information, such as thelogic, policies, programming, network configurations, node locations,and son.

To the extent it is determined at 353 that there are no quantumentanglement requirements, the requested connection is permitted at 354to proceed via one or more classical communication channels, e.g.,telecommunication channels, computer network channels, packet switchednetworks, circuit switched networks, the Internet, local area networks,public networks private networks, fiber optic networks, such as SONET,cable networks, satellite networks, an HFC network and the like.Establishment of one or more classical communication channels can beprovided at 355. For example, a channel can be requested, configuredand/or otherwise identified according to one or more of the source andthe destination. In at least some embodiments, selection and/orestablishment of a particular classical channel may also depend upon oneor more of a source node identity and/or location, a destination nodeidentity and/or location, an information source, e.g., sending userand/or destination, e.g., recipient user, sensitivity of the informationto be processed, e.g., communicated, historical information obtainedfrom previous processing requests, the quantity of information to beprocessed, time sensitivity of the processing, network status, e.g.,traffic congestion, message delays, interference, capacity, and so on.

To the extent it is determined at 353 that there do exist quantumentanglement requirements, a quantum path between the nodes is selectedat 356. For example, a quantum path may be selected from among multipleavailable paths. In at least some embodiments, path selection can beperformed by and/or performed according to information supplied by theSDN. The selected path may include a source node, a destination node andin at least some instances, one or more intermediate nodes. Nodes caninclude one or more of communication nodes or quantum enable nodes.

According to the example process, a path length is determined at 357. Inat least some embodiments, the path length can be determined bymeasurements, e.g., transit times, round trip times. Alternatively or inaddition the path length can be determined according to informationsupplied by the SDN.

An evaluation of the path length can be performed to determine whether arepeater may be required. According to the illustrative example, thepath length is compared to a path length threshold. The threshold candepend on a type of path, type of path segment and/or combinations ofdifferent types of path segments. For example, a path length of anoptical fiber segment may depend upon physical properties of one or moreof the optical source, the optical detector or the fiber channel.Likewise, a path length of a free-space segment may depend upon physicalproperties of one or more of the optical source, the optical detector oratmospheric conditions of the free-space link. It is understood thatchannel conditions may be subject to change for any number of reasons,such as wear of components, atmospheric conditions, interference,congestion, and so on.

To the extent it is determined at 358 that the calculated path lengthdoes not exceed the path length threshold, transportation of one or morephotons of entangled pairs of photons are transported at 360 via aquantum channel established over the path. To the extent it isdetermined at 358 that the calculated path length exceeds the pathlength threshold, a quantum repeater is identified and/or instantiatedinto the network at 359. Quantum channels can include any communicationchannel or link adapted to transport a quantum entangled object, such asan entangled photon, without destroying or otherwise disturbing theentangled quantum state of a transported quantum entangled object torender it useless. Examples include selection of one or morepoint-to-point fiber optic links, free-space optical links, e.g.,between QENs and/or between one or more QENs and a quantum entanglementsource. Alternatively or in addition, configuration can includeconfiguring one or more fiber optic networks, e.g., ring networks, starnetworks, and/or mesh networks, including any of the examples disclosedherein, equivalents, and the like, e.g., providing switch control and/orsignaling commands.

The disclosed embodiments can enhance security and/or capacity in an HFCnetwork 325 to mitigate and/or eliminate a hacking risk. The quantumservice features supported by the various embodiment disclosed hereincan present additional revenue streams to network providers, e.g.,associated with the provision and/or utilization of quantum services viareliable quantum channels of arbitrary distances. Alternatively or inaddition, the techniques disclosed herein can promote or otherwisefacilitate a consolidation of operations for different types of quantumservices, offering a network provider with one or more of a marketdifferentiator, an ability to offer enhanced reliability, improved QoSon demand, and/or new opportunities for IT service providers as theyrelate to quantum services over extended, e.g., arbitrary distances.

While for purposes of simplicity of explanation, the respectiveprocesses are shown and described as a series of blocks in FIGS. 2H-21,it is to be understood and appreciated that the claimed subject matteris not limited by the order of the blocks, as some blocks may occur indifferent orders and/or concurrently with other blocks from what isdepicted and described herein. Moreover, not all illustrated blocks maybe required to implement the methods described herein.

Referring now to FIG. 3, a block diagram 400 is shown illustrating anexample, non-limiting embodiment of a virtualized communication networkin accordance with various aspects described herein. In particular avirtualized communication network is presented that can be used toimplement some or all of the subsystems and functions of communicationnetwork 100, the subsystems and functions of systems 200, 210, 220, 230,240, 250, and 300 presented in FIGS. 1, 2A, 2B, 2C, 2D, 2E, 2F, and 2Gand processes 280 and 350, presented in FIGS. 2H and 21. For example,virtualized communication network 400 can facilitate in whole or in parta generation of entangled photons, responsive to a request for quantumentanglement, and efficient and reliable distribution of the entangledphotons to predetermined processing nodes based on the request. Quantumagents are employed, that in at least some applications, evaluatecommunication and/or processing requests to determine whether quantumentanglement is required. Having identified communications and/orprocessing nodes to be entangled, one or more quantum channels areidentified to support transportation of entangled objects from theentanglement source to remote destinations to facilitate quantumentanglement of endpoints of the requested link. It is envisioned thatin at least some applications, one or more quantum repeaters may benecessary, in which case a swapping of quantum information or states canbe employed to extent an entangled state between the source and thedestination by way of the repeater. Accordingly, the quantum channelscan be established between one or more of the quantum source, a sourcenode, a destination node and possibly a quantum repeater node.

In particular, a cloud networking architecture is shown that leveragescloud technologies and supports rapid innovation and scalability via atransport layer 450, a virtualized network function cloud 425 and/or oneor more cloud computing environments 475. In various embodiments, thiscloud networking architecture is an open architecture that leveragesapplication programming interfaces (APIs); reduces complexity fromservices and operations; supports more nimble business models; andrapidly and seamlessly scales to meet evolving customer requirementsincluding traffic growth, diversity of traffic types, and diversity ofperformance and reliability expectations.

In contrast to traditional network elements—which are typicallyintegrated to perform a single function, the virtualized communicationnetwork employs virtual network elements (VNEs) 430, 432, 434, etc.,that perform some or all of the functions of network elements 150, 152,154, 156, etc. For example, the network architecture can provide asubstrate of networking capability, often called Network FunctionVirtualization Infrastructure (NFVI) or simply infrastructure that iscapable of being directed with software and Software Defined Networking(SDN) protocols to perform a broad variety of network functions andservices. This infrastructure can include several types of substrates.The most typical type of substrate being servers that support NetworkFunction Virtualization (NFV), followed by packet forwardingcapabilities based on generic computing resources, with specializednetwork technologies brought to bear when general purpose processors orgeneral purpose integrated circuit devices offered by merchants(referred to herein as merchant silicon) are not appropriate. In thiscase, communication services can be implemented as cloud-centricworkloads.

As an example, a traditional network element 150 (shown in FIG. 1), suchas an edge router can be implemented via a VNE 430 composed of NFVsoftware modules, merchant silicon, and associated controllers. Thesoftware can be written so that increasing workload consumes incrementalresources from a common resource pool, and moreover so that it'selastic: so the resources are only consumed when needed. In a similarfashion, other network elements such as other routers, switches, edgecaches, and middle-boxes are instantiated from the common resource pool.Such sharing of infrastructure across a broad set of uses makes planningand growing infrastructure easier to manage.

In an embodiment, the transport layer 450 includes fiber, cable, wiredand/or wireless transport elements, network elements and interfaces toprovide broadband access 110, wireless access 120, voice access 130,media access 140 and/or access to content sources 175 for distributionof content to any or all of the access technologies. In particular, insome cases a network element needs to be positioned at a specific place,and this allows for less sharing of common infrastructure. Other times,the network elements have specific physical layer adapters that cannotbe abstracted or virtualized, and might require special DSP code andanalog front-ends (AFEs) that do not lend themselves to implementationas VNEs 430, 432 or 434. These network elements can be included intransport layer 450.

The virtualized network function cloud 425 interfaces with the transportlayer 450 to provide the VNEs 430, 432, 434, etc., to provide specificNFVs. In particular, the virtualized network function cloud 425leverages cloud operations, applications, and architectures to supportnetworking workloads. The virtualized network elements 430, 432 and 434can employ network function software that provides either a one-for-onemapping of traditional network element function or alternately somecombination of network functions designed for cloud computing. Forexample, VNEs 430, 432 and 434 can include route reflectors, domain namesystem (DNS) servers, and dynamic host configuration protocol (DHCP)servers, system architecture evolution (SAE) and/or mobility managemententity (MME) gateways, broadband network gateways, IP edge routers forIP-VPN, Ethernet and other services, load balancers, distributers andother network elements. Because these elements don't typically need toforward large amounts of traffic, their workload can be distributedacross a number of servers—each of which adds a portion of thecapability, and overall which creates an elastic function with higheravailability than its former monolithic version. These virtual networkelements 430, 432, 434, etc., can be instantiated and managed using anorchestration approach similar to those used in cloud compute services.

The cloud computing environments 475 can interface with the virtualizednetwork function cloud 425 via APIs that expose functional capabilitiesof the VNEs 430, 432, 434, etc., to provide the flexible and expandedcapabilities to the virtualized network function cloud 425. Inparticular, network workloads may have applications distributed acrossthe virtualized network function cloud 425 and cloud computingenvironment 475 and in the commercial cloud, or might simply orchestrateworkloads supported entirely in NFV infrastructure from these thirdparty locations.

Turning now to FIG. 4, there is illustrated a block diagram of acomputing environment in accordance with various aspects describedherein. In order to provide additional context for various embodimentsof the embodiments described herein, FIG. 4 and the following discussionare intended to provide a brief, general description of a suitablecomputing environment 500 in which the various embodiments of thesubject disclosure can be implemented. In particular, computingenvironment 500 can be used in the implementation of network elements150, 152, 154, 156, access terminal 112, base station or access point122, switching device 132, media terminal 142, and/or VNEs 430, 432,434, etc. Each of these devices can be implemented viacomputer-executable instructions that can run on one or more computers,and/or in combination with other program modules and/or as a combinationof hardware and software. For example, computing environment 500 canfacilitate in whole or in part a generation of entangled photons,responsive to a request for quantum entanglement, and efficient andreliable distribution of the entangled photons to predeterminedprocessing nodes based on the request. Quantum agents are employed, thatin at least some applications, evaluate communication and/or processingrequests to determine whether quantum entanglement is required. Havingidentified communications and/or processing nodes to be entangled, oneor more quantum channels are identified to support transportation ofentangled objects from the entanglement source to remote destinations tofacilitate quantum entanglement of endpoints of the requested link. Itis envisioned that in at least some applications, one or more quantumrepeaters may be necessary, in which case a swapping of quantuminformation or states can be employed to extent an entangled statebetween the source and the destination by way of the repeater.Accordingly, the quantum channels can be established between one or moreof the quantum source, a source node, a destination node and possibly aquantum repeater node.

Generally, program modules comprise routines, programs, components, datastructures, etc., that perform particular tasks or implement particularabstract data types. Moreover, those skilled in the art will appreciatethat the methods can be practiced with other computer systemconfigurations, comprising single-processor or multiprocessor computersystems, minicomputers, mainframe computers, as well as personalcomputers, hand-held computing devices, microprocessor-based orprogrammable consumer electronics, and the like, each of which can beoperatively coupled to one or more associated devices.

As used herein, a processing circuit includes one or more processors aswell as other application specific circuits such as an applicationspecific integrated circuit, digital logic circuit, state machine,programmable gate array or other circuit that processes input signals ordata and that produces output signals or data in response thereto. Itshould be noted that while any functions and features described hereinin association with the operation of a processor could likewise beperformed by a processing circuit.

The illustrated embodiments of the embodiments herein can be alsopracticed in distributed computing environments where certain tasks areperformed by remote processing devices that are linked through acommunications network. In a distributed computing environment, programmodules can be located in both local and remote memory storage devices.

Computing devices typically comprise a variety of media, which cancomprise computer-readable storage media and/or communications media,which two terms are used herein differently from one another as follows.Computer-readable storage media can be any available storage media thatcan be accessed by the computer and comprises both volatile andnonvolatile media, removable and non-removable media. By way of example,and not limitation, computer-readable storage media can be implementedin connection with any method or technology for storage of informationsuch as computer-readable instructions, program modules, structured dataor unstructured data.

Computer-readable storage media can comprise, but are not limited to,random access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), electricallyerasable programmable read only memory (EEPROM), flash memory or othermemory technology, compact disk read only memory (CD-ROM), digitalversatile disk (DVD) or other optical disk storage, magnetic cassettes,magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devicesor other tangible and/or non-transitory media which can be used to storedesired information. In this regard, the terms “tangible” or“non-transitory” herein as applied to storage, memory orcomputer-readable media, are to be understood to exclude onlypropagating transitory signals per se as modifiers and do not relinquishrights to all standard storage, memory or computer-readable media thatare not only propagating transitory signals per se.

Computer-readable storage media can be accessed by one or more local orremote computing devices, e.g., via access requests, queries or otherdata retrieval protocols, for a variety of operations with respect tothe information stored by the medium.

Communications media typically embody computer-readable instructions,data structures, program modules or other structured or unstructureddata in a data signal such as a modulated data signal, e.g., a carrierwave or other transport mechanism, and comprises any informationdelivery or transport media. The term “modulated data signal” or signalsrefers to a signal that has one or more of its characteristics set orchanged in such a manner as to encode information in one or moresignals. By way of example, and not limitation, communication mediacomprise wired media, such as a wired network or direct-wiredconnection, and wireless media such as acoustic, RF, infrared and otherwireless media.

With reference again to FIG. 4, the example environment can comprise acomputer 502, the computer 502 comprising a processing unit 504, asystem memory 506 and a system bus 508. The system bus 508 couplessystem components including, but not limited to, the system memory 506to the processing unit 504. The processing unit 504 can be any ofvarious commercially available processors. Dual microprocessors andother multiprocessor architectures can also be employed as theprocessing unit 504.

The system bus 508 can be any of several types of bus structure that canfurther interconnect to a memory bus (with or without a memorycontroller), a peripheral bus, and a local bus using any of a variety ofcommercially available bus architectures. The system memory 506comprises ROM 510 and RAM 512. A basic input/output system (BIOS) can bestored in a non-volatile memory such as ROM, erasable programmable readonly memory (EPROM), EEPROM, which BIOS contains the basic routines thathelp to transfer information between elements within the computer 502,such as during startup. The RAM 512 can also comprise a high-speed RAMsuch as static RAM for caching data.

The computer 502 further comprises an internal hard disk drive (HDD) 514(e.g., EIDE, SATA), which internal HDD 514 can also be configured forexternal use in a suitable chassis (not shown), a magnetic floppy diskdrive (FDD) 516, (e.g., to read from or write to a removable diskette518) and an optical disk drive 520, (e.g., reading a CD-ROM disk 522 or,to read from or write to other high capacity optical media such as theDVD). The HDD 514, magnetic FDD 516 and optical disk drive 520 can beconnected to the system bus 508 by a hard disk drive interface 524, amagnetic disk drive interface 526 and an optical drive interface 528,respectively. The hard disk drive interface 524 for external driveimplementations comprises at least one or both of Universal Serial Bus(USB) and Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 1394interface technologies. Other external drive connection technologies arewithin contemplation of the embodiments described herein.

The drives and their associated computer-readable storage media providenonvolatile storage of data, data structures, computer-executableinstructions, and so forth. For the computer 502, the drives and storagemedia accommodate the storage of any data in a suitable digital format.Although the description of computer-readable storage media above refersto a hard disk drive (HDD), a removable magnetic diskette, and aremovable optical media such as a CD or DVD, it should be appreciated bythose skilled in the art that other types of storage media which arereadable by a computer, such as zip drives, magnetic cassettes, flashmemory cards, cartridges, and the like, can also be used in the exampleoperating environment, and further, that any such storage media cancontain computer-executable instructions for performing the methodsdescribed herein.

A number of program modules can be stored in the drives and RAM 512,comprising an operating system 530, one or more application programs532, other program modules 534 and program data 536. All or portions ofthe operating system, applications, modules, and/or data can also becached in the RAM 512. The systems and methods described herein can beimplemented utilizing various commercially available operating systemsor combinations of operating systems.

A user can enter commands and information into the computer 502 throughone or more wired/wireless input devices, e.g., a keyboard 538 and apointing device, such as a mouse 540. Other input devices (not shown)can comprise a microphone, an infrared (IR) remote control, a joystick,a game pad, a stylus pen, touch screen or the like. These and otherinput devices are often connected to the processing unit 504 through aninput device interface 542 that can be coupled to the system bus 508,but can be connected by other interfaces, such as a parallel port, anIEEE 1394 serial port, a game port, a universal serial bus (USB) port,an IR interface, etc.

A monitor 544 or other type of display device can be also connected tothe system bus 508 via an interface, such as a video adapter 546. Itwill also be appreciated that in alternative embodiments, a monitor 544can also be any display device (e.g., another computer having a display,a smart phone, a tablet computer, etc.) for receiving displayinformation associated with computer 502 via any communication means,including via the Internet and cloud-based networks. In addition to themonitor 544, a computer typically comprises other peripheral outputdevices (not shown), such as speakers, printers, etc.

The computer 502 can operate in a networked environment using logicalconnections via wired and/or wireless communications to one or moreremote computers, such as a remote computer(s) 548. The remotecomputer(s) 548 can be a workstation, a server computer, a router, apersonal computer, portable computer, microprocessor-based entertainmentappliance, a peer device or other common network node, and typicallycomprises many or all of the elements described relative to the computer502, although, for purposes of brevity, only a remote memory/storagedevice 550 is illustrated. The logical connections depicted comprisewired/wireless connectivity to a local area network (LAN) 552 and/orlarger networks, e.g., a wide area network (WAN) 554. Such LAN and WANnetworking environments are commonplace in offices and companies, andfacilitate enterprise-wide computer networks, such as intranets, all ofwhich can connect to a global communications network, e.g., theInternet.

When used in a LAN networking environment, the computer 502 can beconnected to the LAN 552 through a wired and/or wireless communicationnetwork interface or adapter 556. The adapter 556 can facilitate wiredor wireless communication to the LAN 552, which can also comprise awireless AP disposed thereon for communicating with the adapter 556.

When used in a WAN networking environment, the computer 502 can comprisea modem 558 or can be connected to a communications server on the WAN554 or has other means for establishing communications over the WAN 554,such as by way of the Internet. The modem 558, which can be internal orexternal and a wired or wireless device, can be connected to the systembus 508 via the input device interface 542. In a networked environment,program modules depicted relative to the computer 502 or portionsthereof, can be stored in the remote memory/storage device 550. It willbe appreciated that the network connections shown are example and othermeans of establishing a communications link between the computers can beused.

The computer 502 can be operable to communicate with any wirelessdevices or entities operatively disposed in wireless communication,e.g., a printer, scanner, desktop and/or portable computer, portabledata assistant, communications satellite, any piece of equipment orlocation associated with a wirelessly detectable tag (e.g., a kiosk,news stand, restroom), and telephone. This can comprise WirelessFidelity (Wi-Fi) and BLUETOOTH® wireless technologies. Thus, thecommunication can be a predefined structure as with a conventionalnetwork or simply an ad hoc communication between at least two devices.

Wi-Fi can allow connection to the Internet from a couch at home, a bedin a hotel room or a conference room at work, without wires. Wi-Fi is awireless technology similar to that used in a cell phone that enablessuch devices, e.g., computers, to send and receive data indoors and out;anywhere within the range of a base station. Wi-Fi networks use radiotechnologies called IEEE 802.11 (a, b, g, n, ac, ag, etc.) to providesecure, reliable, fast wireless connectivity. A Wi-Fi network can beused to connect computers to each other, to the Internet, and to wirednetworks (which can use IEEE 802.3 or Ethernet). Wi-Fi networks operatein the unlicensed 2.4 and 5 GHz radio bands for example or with productsthat contain both bands (dual band), so the networks can providereal-world performance similar to the basic 10BaseT wired Ethernetnetworks used in many offices.

In at least some embodiments, the computing environment 500 isconfigured to engage and/or otherwise participate in quantumentanglement other computing environments, e.g., remote computers 548,systems and/or network elements to support quantum enabled functions,services and/or applications. For example, the computing 500 includes aquantum source (QS) 562 adapted to generate a quantum entangled group ofobjects, such as entangled photons, responsive to a request forprocessing, e.g., communication within the computing environment 500and/or between the computing environment 500 and other computingenvironments, systems and/or network elements s, that utilizes quantumentanglement. A first quantum agents (QA) 561 a can be included withinor otherwise associated with the computer 502, and a second QA 561 b canbe included within or otherwise associated with the remote computer 548,e.g., to evaluate communication and/or processing requests to determinewhether quantum entanglement is desired. Likewise, the computer 502and/or the remote computer 548 can include one or more quantum enablednodes (QEN) 560 a, 560 b, generally 560, that are adapted to transmit,receive, measure, store and/or otherwise process quantum entangledobjects according to any of the techniques disclosed herein, includingthose generally known to those skilled in the art of quantum processing.According to the illustrative embodiments, the computing environmentincludes at least one quantum controller (QC) 564 adapted to respond toand/or otherwise service requests and/or determinations that quantumprocessing be implemented in association with the computing environment500.

In at least some embodiments, each QEN 560 a, 560 b, generally 560,includes or is otherwise associated with a respective QA 561. That said,it is envisioned that in at least some embodiments, a single QA 561 maybe shared with multiple QENs 560, e.g., among a computer 502 and one ormore remote computers 548 at a proximate or common location, such as adata center. Having identified quantum entanglements for communicationsand/or processing between the computer 502, and/or the remote computer548 and/or other networks and/or systems, one or more quantum channelsare identified to support transportation of the entangled objects froman entanglement source to remote destinations to facilitate quantumentanglement between endpoints of the requested link, e.g., according tothe various techniques and examples disclosed herein, including thepossibility of quantum repeater nodes, if deemed necessary.

Turning now to FIG. 5, an embodiment 600 of a mobile network platform610 is shown that is an example of network elements 150, 152, 154, 156,and/or VNEs 430, 432, 434, etc. For example, platform 610 can facilitatein whole or in part a generation of entangled photons, responsive to arequest for quantum entanglement, and efficient and reliabledistribution of the entangled photons to predetermined processing nodesbased on the request. Quantum agents are employed, that in at least someapplications, evaluate communication and/or processing requests todetermine whether quantum entanglement is required. Having identifiedcommunications and/or processing nodes to be entangled, one or morequantum channels are identified to support transportation of entangledobjects from the entanglement source to remote destinations tofacilitate quantum entanglement of endpoints of the requested link. Itis envisioned that in at least some applications, one or more quantumrepeaters may be necessary, in which case a swapping of quantuminformation or states can be employed to extent an entangled statebetween the source and the destination by way of the repeater.Accordingly, the quantum channels can be established between one or moreof the quantum source, a source node, a destination node and possibly aquantum repeater node.

In one or more embodiments, the mobile network platform 610 can generateand receive signals transmitted and received by base stations or accesspoints such as base station or access point 122. Generally, mobilenetwork platform 610 can comprise components, e.g., nodes, gateways,interfaces, servers, or disparate platforms, that facilitate bothpacket-switched (PS) (e.g., internet protocol (IP), frame relay,asynchronous transfer mode (ATM)) and circuit-switched (CS) traffic(e.g., voice and data), as well as control generation for networkedwireless telecommunication. As a non-limiting example, mobile networkplatform 610 can be included in telecommunications carrier networks, andcan be considered carrier-side components as discussed elsewhere herein.Mobile network platform 610 comprises CS gateway node(s) 612 which caninterface CS traffic received from legacy networks like telephonynetwork(s) 640 (e.g., public switched telephone network (PSTN), orpublic land mobile network (PLMN)) or a signaling system #7 (SS7)network 660. CS gateway node(s) 612 can authorize and authenticatetraffic (e.g., voice) arising from such networks. Additionally, CSgateway node(s) 612 can access mobility, or roaming, data generatedthrough SS7 network 660; for instance, mobility data stored in a visitedlocation register (VLR), which can reside in memory 630. Moreover, CSgateway node(s) 612 interfaces CS-based traffic and signaling and PSgateway node(s) 618. As an example, in a 3GPP UMTS network, CS gatewaynode(s) 612 can be realized at least in part in gateway GPRS supportnode(s) (GGSN). It should be appreciated that functionality and specificoperation of CS gateway node(s) 612, PS gateway node(s) 618, and servingnode(s) 616, is provided and dictated by radio technology(ies) utilizedby mobile network platform 610 for telecommunication over a radio accessnetwork 620 with other devices, such as a radiotelephone 675.

In addition to receiving and processing CS-switched traffic andsignaling, PS gateway node(s) 618 can authorize and authenticatePS-based data sessions with served mobile devices. Data sessions cancomprise traffic, or content(s), exchanged with networks external to themobile network platform 610, like wide area network(s) (WANs) 650,enterprise network(s) 670, and service network(s) 680, which can beembodied in local area network(s) (LANs), can also be interfaced withmobile network platform 610 through PS gateway node(s) 618. It is to benoted that WANs 650 and enterprise network(s) 670 can embody, at leastin part, a service network(s) like IP multimedia subsystem (IMS). Basedon radio technology layer(s) available in technology resource(s) orradio access network 620, PS gateway node(s) 618 can generate packetdata protocol contexts when a data session is established; other datastructures that facilitate routing of packetized data also can begenerated. To that end, in an aspect, PS gateway node(s) 618 cancomprise a tunnel interface (e.g., tunnel termination gateway (TTG) in3GPP UMTS network(s) (not shown)) which can facilitate packetizedcommunication with disparate wireless network(s), such as Wi-Finetworks.

In embodiment 600, mobile network platform 610 also comprises servingnode(s) 616 that, based upon available radio technology layer(s) withintechnology resource(s) in the radio access network 620, convey thevarious packetized flows of data streams received through PS gatewaynode(s) 618. It is to be noted that for technology resource(s) that relyprimarily on CS communication, server node(s) can deliver trafficwithout reliance on PS gateway node(s) 618; for example, server node(s)can embody at least in part a mobile switching center. As an example, ina 3GPP UMTS network, serving node(s) 616 can be embodied in serving GPRSsupport node(s) (SGSN).

For radio technologies that exploit packetized communication, server(s)614 in mobile network platform 610 can execute numerous applicationsthat can generate multiple disparate packetized data streams or flows,and manage (e.g., schedule, queue, format . . . ) such flows. Suchapplication(s) can comprise add-on features to standard services (forexample, provisioning, billing, customer support . . . ) provided bymobile network platform 610. Data streams (e.g., content(s) that arepart of a voice call or data session) can be conveyed to PS gatewaynode(s) 618 for authorization/authentication and initiation of a datasession, and to serving node(s) 616 for communication thereafter. Inaddition to application server, server(s) 614 can comprise utilityserver(s), a utility server can comprise a provisioning server, anoperations and maintenance server, a security server that can implementat least in part a certificate authority and firewalls as well as othersecurity mechanisms, and the like. In an aspect, security server(s)secure communication served through mobile network platform 610 toensure network's operation and data integrity in addition toauthorization and authentication procedures that CS gateway node(s) 612and PS gateway node(s) 618 can enact. Moreover, provisioning server(s)can provision services from external network(s) like networks operatedby a disparate service provider; for instance, WAN 650 or GlobalPositioning System (GPS) network(s) (not shown). Provisioning server(s)can also provision coverage through networks associated to mobilenetwork platform 610 (e.g., deployed and operated by the same serviceprovider), such as the distributed antennas networks shown in FIG. 1(s)that enhance wireless service coverage by providing more networkcoverage.

It is to be noted that server(s) 614 can comprise one or more processorsconfigured to confer at least in part the functionality of mobilenetwork platform 610. To that end, the one or more processor can executecode instructions stored in memory 630, for example. It is should beappreciated that server(s) 614 can comprise a content manager, whichoperates in substantially the same manner as described hereinbefore.

In example embodiment 600, memory 630 can store information related tooperation of mobile network platform 610. Other operational informationcan comprise provisioning information of mobile devices served throughmobile network platform 610, subscriber databases; applicationintelligence, pricing schemes, e.g., promotional rates, flat-rateprograms, couponing campaigns; technical specification(s) consistentwith telecommunication protocols for operation of disparate radio, orwireless, technology layers; and so forth. Memory 630 can also storeinformation from at least one of telephony network(s) 640, WAN 650, SS7network 660, or enterprise network(s) 670. In an aspect, memory 630 canbe, for example, accessed as part of a data store component or as aremotely connected memory store.

In order to provide a context for the various aspects of the disclosedsubject matter, FIG. 5, and the following discussion, are intended toprovide a brief, general description of a suitable environment in whichthe various aspects of the disclosed subject matter can be implemented.While the subject matter has been described above in the general contextof computer-executable instructions of a computer program that runs on acomputer and/or computers, those skilled in the art will recognize thatthe disclosed subject matter also can be implemented in combination withother program modules. Generally, program modules comprise routines,programs, components, data structures, etc., that perform particulartasks and/or implement particular abstract data types.

In at least some embodiments, the mobile network platform 610 isconfigured to engage and/or otherwise participate in quantumentanglement other computing environments, e.g., remote computers,systems and/or other networks, such as quantum networks 682, to supportquantum enabled functions, services and/or applications. For example,the mobile network platform 610 includes a quantum source (QS) 684 aadapted to generate a quantum entangled group of objects, such asentangled photons, responsive to a request for processing, e.g.,communication within the mobile network platform 610 and/or between themobile network platform 610 and other computing environments, systemsand/or network 682, that utilizes quantum entanglement. A first quantumagents (QA) 685 a can be included within or otherwise associated withthe mobile network platform 610, and a second QA 685 b can be includedwithin or otherwise associated with the quantum network 682, e.g., toevaluate communication and/or processing requests to determine whetherquantum entanglement is desired. Likewise, the mobile network platform610 and/or the quantum network 682 can include one or more quantumenabled nodes (QEN) 684 a, 684 b, generally 684, that are adapted totransmit, receive, measure, store and/or otherwise process quantumentangled objects according to any of the techniques disclosed herein,including those generally known to those skilled in the art of quantumprocessing. According to the illustrative embodiments, the mobilenetwork environment 600 includes at least one quantum controller (QC)686 adapted to respond to and/or otherwise service requests and/ordeterminations that quantum processing be implemented in associationwith the mobile network environment 600.

In at least some embodiments, each QEN 684, includes or is otherwiseassociated with a respective QA 685 a, 685 b, generally 685. That said,it is envisioned that in at least some embodiments, a single QA 685 maybe shared with multiple QENs 684, e.g., among a mobile network platform610 and one or more remote quantum networks 682 at a proximate or commonlocation, such as a data center. Having identified quantum entanglementsfor communications and/or processing between the mobile network platform610, and/or the remote quantum network 682 and/or other networks and/orsystems, one or more quantum channels are identified to supporttransportation of the entangled objects from an entanglement source toremote destinations to facilitate quantum entanglement between endpointsof the requested link, e.g., according to the various techniques andexamples disclosed herein, including the possibility of quantum repeaternodes, if deemed necessary.

Turning now to FIG. 6, an illustrative embodiment of a communicationdevice 700 is shown. The communication device 700 can serve as anillustrative embodiment of devices such as data terminals 114, mobiledevices 124, vehicle 126, display devices 144 or other client devicesfor communication via either communications network 125. For example,computing device 700 can facilitate in whole or in part a generation ofentangled photons, responsive to a request for quantum entanglement, andefficient and reliable distribution of the entangled photons topredetermined processing nodes based on the request. Quantum agents areemployed, that in at least some applications, evaluate communicationand/or processing requests to determine whether quantum entanglement isrequired. Having identified communications and/or processing nodes to beentangled, one or more quantum channels are identified to supporttransportation of entangled objects from the entanglement source toremote destinations to facilitate quantum entanglement of endpoints ofthe requested link. It is envisioned that in at least some applications,one or more quantum repeaters may be necessary, in which case a swappingof quantum information or states can be employed to extent an entangledstate between the source and the destination by way of the repeater.Accordingly, the quantum channels can be established between one or moreof the quantum source, a source node, a destination node and possibly aquantum repeater node.

The communication device 700 can comprise a wireline and/or wirelesstransceiver 702 (herein transceiver 702), a user interface (UI) 704, apower supply 714, a location receiver 716, a motion sensor 718, anorientation sensor 720, and a controller 706 for managing operationsthereof. The transceiver 702 can support short-range or long-rangewireless access technologies such as Bluetooth®, ZigBee®, WiFi, DECT, orcellular communication technologies, just to mention a few (Bluetooth®and ZigBee® are trademarks registered by the Bluetooth® Special InterestGroup and the ZigBee® Alliance, respectively). Cellular technologies caninclude, for example, CDMA-1X, UMTS/HSDPA, GSM/GPRS, TDMA/EDGE, EV/DO,WiMAX, SDR, LTE, as well as other next generation wireless communicationtechnologies as they arise. The transceiver 702 can also be adapted tosupport circuit-switched wireline access technologies (such as PSTN),packet-switched wireline access technologies (such as TCP/IP, VoIP,etc.), and combinations thereof.

The UI 704 can include a depressible or touch-sensitive keypad 708 witha navigation mechanism such as a roller ball, a joystick, a mouse, or anavigation disk for manipulating operations of the communication device700. The keypad 708 can be an integral part of a housing assembly of thecommunication device 700 or an independent device operably coupledthereto by a tethered wireline interface (such as a USB cable) or awireless interface supporting for example Bluetooth®. The keypad 708 canrepresent a numeric keypad commonly used by phones, and/or a QWERTYkeypad with alphanumeric keys. The UI 704 can further include a display710 such as monochrome or color LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), OLED(Organic Light Emitting Diode) or other suitable display technology forconveying images to an end user of the communication device 700. In anembodiment where the display 710 is touch-sensitive, a portion or all ofthe keypad 708 can be presented by way of the display 710 withnavigation features.

The display 710 can use touch screen technology to also serve as a userinterface for detecting user input. As a touch screen display, thecommunication device 700 can be adapted to present a user interfacehaving graphical user interface (GUI) elements that can be selected by auser with a touch of a finger. The display 710 can be equipped withcapacitive, resistive or other forms of sensing technology to detect howmuch surface area of a user's finger has been placed on a portion of thetouch screen display. This sensing information can be used to controlthe manipulation of the GUI elements or other functions of the userinterface. The display 710 can be an integral part of the housingassembly of the communication device 700 or an independent devicecommunicatively coupled thereto by a tethered wireline interface (suchas a cable) or a wireless interface.

The UI 704 can also include an audio system 712 that utilizes audiotechnology for conveying low volume audio (such as audio heard inproximity of a human ear) and high volume audio (such as speakerphonefor hands free operation). The audio system 712 can further include amicrophone for receiving audible signals of an end user. The audiosystem 712 can also be used for voice recognition applications. The UI704 can further include an image sensor 713 such as a charged coupleddevice (CCD) camera for capturing still or moving images.

The power supply 714 can utilize common power management technologiessuch as replaceable and rechargeable batteries, supply regulationtechnologies, and/or charging system technologies for supplying energyto the components of the communication device 700 to facilitatelong-range or short-range portable communications. Alternatively, or incombination, the charging system can utilize external power sources suchas DC power supplied over a physical interface such as a USB port orother suitable tethering technologies.

The location receiver 716 can utilize location technology such as aglobal positioning system (GPS) receiver capable of assisted GPS foridentifying a location of the communication device 700 based on signalsgenerated by a constellation of GPS satellites, which can be used forfacilitating location services such as navigation. The motion sensor 718can utilize motion sensing technology such as an accelerometer, agyroscope, or other suitable motion sensing technology to detect motionof the communication device 700 in three-dimensional space. Theorientation sensor 720 can utilize orientation sensing technology suchas a magnetometer to detect the orientation of the communication device700 (north, south, west, and east, as well as combined orientations indegrees, minutes, or other suitable orientation metrics).

The communication device 700 can use the transceiver 702 to alsodetermine a proximity to a cellular, WiFi, Bluetooth®, or other wirelessaccess points by sensing techniques such as utilizing a received signalstrength indicator (RSSI) and/or signal time of arrival (TOA) or time offlight (TOF) measurements. The controller 706 can utilize computingtechnologies such as a microprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP),programmable gate arrays, application specific integrated circuits,and/or a video processor with associated storage memory such as Flash,ROM, RAM, SRAM, DRAM or other storage technologies for executingcomputer instructions, controlling, and processing data supplied by theaforementioned components of the communication device 700.

Other components not shown in FIG. 6 can be used in one or moreembodiments of the subject disclosure. For instance, the communicationdevice 700 can include a slot for adding or removing an identity modulesuch as a Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) card or Universal IntegratedCircuit Card (UICC). SIM or UICC cards can be used for identifyingsubscriber services, executing programs, storing subscriber data, and soon.

In at least some embodiments, the communication device 700 is configuredto engage and/or otherwise participate in quantum entanglement othercomputing environments, e.g., remote computers, systems and/or othernetworks to support quantum enabled functions, services and/orapplications. For example, the communication device 700 includes aquantum agent (QA) 731 that can be included within or otherwiseassociated with the communication device 700, e.g., to evaluatecommunication and/or processing requests to determine whether quantumentanglement is desired. Likewise, the communication device 700 caninclude a quantum enabled node (QEN) 730, adapted to transmit, receive,measure, store and/or otherwise process quantum entangled objectsaccording to any of the techniques disclosed herein, including thosegenerally known to those skilled in the art of quantum processing.

The QEN 730 can be in communication with a quantum source (QS), adaptedto generate a quantum entangled group of objects, such as entangledphotons, responsive to a request for processing, e.g., communicationwithin the communication device 700 and/or between the communicationdevice 700 and other communication devices, computing environments,systems and/or network, that utilizes quantum entanglement.

Other quantum networking techniques are disclosed in U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. ______, entitled “System and Method for NetworkDistribution of Quantum Entanglement,” attorney docket no.2019-0316_7785-1992A, filed on Dec. 6, 2019, all sections thereof areincorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

The terms “first,” “second,” “third,” and so forth, as used in theclaims, unless otherwise clear by context, is for clarity only anddoesn't otherwise indicate or imply any order in time. For instance, “afirst determination,” “a second determination,” and “a thirddetermination,” does not indicate or imply that the first determinationis to be made before the second determination, or vice versa, etc.

In the subject specification, terms such as “store,” “storage,” “datastore,” data storage,” “database,” and substantially any otherinformation storage component relevant to operation and functionality ofa component, refer to “memory components,” or entities embodied in a“memory” or components comprising the memory. It will be appreciatedthat the memory components described herein can be either volatilememory or nonvolatile memory, or can comprise both volatile andnonvolatile memory, by way of illustration, and not limitation, volatilememory, non-volatile memory, disk storage, and memory storage. Further,nonvolatile memory can be included in read only memory (ROM),programmable ROM (PROM), electrically programmable ROM (EPROM),electrically erasable ROM (EEPROM), or flash memory. Volatile memory cancomprise random access memory (RAM), which acts as external cachememory. By way of illustration and not limitation, RAM is available inmany forms such as synchronous RAM (SRAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM),synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), double data rate SDRAM (DDR SDRAM), enhancedSDRAM (ESDRAM), Synchlink DRAM (SLDRAM), and direct Rambus RAM (DRRAM).Additionally, the disclosed memory components of systems or methodsherein are intended to comprise, without being limited to comprising,these and any other suitable types of memory.

Moreover, it will be noted that the disclosed subject matter can bepracticed with other computer system configurations, comprisingsingle-processor or multiprocessor computer systems, mini-computingdevices, mainframe computers, as well as personal computers, hand-heldcomputing devices (e.g., PDA, phone, smartphone, watch, tabletcomputers, netbook computers, etc.), microprocessor-based orprogrammable consumer or industrial electronics, and the like. Theillustrated aspects can also be practiced in distributed computingenvironments where tasks are performed by remote processing devices thatare linked through a communications network; however, some if not allaspects of the subject disclosure can be practiced on stand-alonecomputers. In a distributed computing environment, program modules canbe located in both local and remote memory storage devices.

In one or more embodiments, information regarding use of services can begenerated including services being accessed, media consumption history,user preferences, and so forth. This information can be obtained byvarious methods including user input, detecting types of communications(e.g., video content vs. audio content), analysis of content streams,sampling, and so forth. The generating, obtaining and/or monitoring ofthis information can be responsive to an authorization provided by theuser. In one or more embodiments, an analysis of data can be subject toauthorization from user(s) associated with the data, such as an opt-in,an opt-out, acknowledgement requirements, notifications, selectiveauthorization based on types of data, and so forth.

Some of the embodiments described herein can also employ artificialintelligence (AI) to facilitate automating one or more featuresdescribed herein. The embodiments (e.g., in connection withautomatically identifying acquired cell sites that provide a maximumvalue/benefit after addition to an existing communication network) canemploy various AI-based schemes for carrying out various embodimentsthereof. Moreover, the classifier can be employed to determine a rankingor priority of each cell site of the acquired network. A classifier is afunction that maps an input attribute vector, x=(x1, x2, x3, x4, . . . ,xn), to a confidence that the input belongs to a class, that is,f(x)=confidence (class). Such classification can employ a probabilisticand/or statistical-based analysis (e.g., factoring into the analysisutilities and costs) to determine or infer an action that a user desiresto be automatically performed. A support vector machine (SVM) is anexample of a classifier that can be employed. The SVM operates byfinding a hypersurface in the space of possible inputs, which thehypersurface attempts to split the triggering criteria from thenon-triggering events. Intuitively, this makes the classificationcorrect for testing data that is near, but not identical to trainingdata. Other directed and undirected model classification approachescomprise, e.g., naïve Bayes, Bayesian networks, decision trees, neuralnetworks, fuzzy logic models, and probabilistic classification modelsproviding different patterns of independence can be employed.Classification as used herein also is inclusive of statisticalregression that is utilized to develop models of priority.

As will be readily appreciated, one or more of the embodiments canemploy classifiers that are explicitly trained (e.g., via a generictraining data) as well as implicitly trained (e.g., via observing UEbehavior, operator preferences, historical information, receivingextrinsic information). For example, SVMs can be configured via alearning or training phase within a classifier constructor and featureselection module. Thus, the classifier(s) can be used to automaticallylearn and perform a number of functions, including but not limited todetermining according to predetermined criteria which of the acquiredcell sites will benefit a maximum number of subscribers and/or which ofthe acquired cell sites will add minimum value to the existingcommunication network coverage, etc.

As used in some contexts in this application, in some embodiments, theterms “component,” “system” and the like are intended to refer to, orcomprise, a computer-related entity or an entity related to anoperational apparatus with one or more specific functionalities, whereinthe entity can be either hardware, a combination of hardware andsoftware, software, or software in execution. As an example, a componentmay be, but is not limited to being, a process running on a processor, aprocessor, an object, an executable, a thread of execution,computer-executable instructions, a program, and/or a computer. By wayof illustration and not limitation, both an application running on aserver and the server can be a component. One or more components mayreside within a process and/or thread of execution and a component maybe localized on one computer and/or distributed between two or morecomputers. In addition, these components can execute from variouscomputer readable media having various data structures stored thereon.The components may communicate via local and/or remote processes such asin accordance with a signal having one or more data packets (e.g., datafrom one component interacting with another component in a local system,distributed system, and/or across a network such as the Internet withother systems via the signal). As another example, a component can be anapparatus with specific functionality provided by mechanical partsoperated by electric or electronic circuitry, which is operated by asoftware or firmware application executed by a processor, wherein theprocessor can be internal or external to the apparatus and executes atleast a part of the software or firmware application. As yet anotherexample, a component can be an apparatus that provides specificfunctionality through electronic components without mechanical parts,the electronic components can comprise a processor therein to executesoftware or firmware that confers at least in part the functionality ofthe electronic components. While various components have beenillustrated as separate components, it will be appreciated that multiplecomponents can be implemented as a single component, or a singlecomponent can be implemented as multiple components, without departingfrom example embodiments.

Further, the various embodiments can be implemented as a method,apparatus or article of manufacture using standard programming and/orengineering techniques to produce software, firmware, hardware or anycombination thereof to control a computer to implement the disclosedsubject matter. The term “article of manufacture” as used herein isintended to encompass a computer program accessible from anycomputer-readable device or computer-readable storage/communicationsmedia. For example, computer readable storage media can include, but arenot limited to, magnetic storage devices (e.g., hard disk, floppy disk,magnetic strips), optical disks (e.g., compact disk (CD), digitalversatile disk (DVD)), smart cards, and flash memory devices (e.g.,card, stick, key drive). Of course, those skilled in the art willrecognize many modifications can be made to this configuration withoutdeparting from the scope or spirit of the various embodiments.

In addition, the words “example” and “exemplary” are used herein to meanserving as an instance or illustration. Any embodiment or designdescribed herein as “example” or “exemplary” is not necessarily to beconstrued as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments ordesigns. Rather, use of the word example or exemplary is intended topresent concepts in a concrete fashion. As used in this application, theterm “or” is intended to mean an inclusive “or” rather than an exclusive“or”. That is, unless specified otherwise or clear from context, “Xemploys A or B” is intended to mean any of the natural inclusivepermutations. That is, if X employs A; X employs B; or X employs both Aand B, then “X employs A or B” is satisfied under any of the foregoinginstances. In addition, the articles “a” and “an” as used in thisapplication and the appended claims should generally be construed tomean “one or more” unless specified otherwise or clear from context tobe directed to a singular form.

Moreover, terms such as “user equipment,” “mobile station,” “mobile,”subscriber station,” “access terminal,” “terminal,” “handset,” “mobiledevice” (and/or terms representing similar terminology) can refer to awireless device utilized by a subscriber or user of a wirelesscommunication service to receive or convey data, control, voice, video,sound, gaming or substantially any data-stream or signaling-stream. Theforegoing terms are utilized interchangeably herein and with referenceto the related drawings.

Furthermore, the terms “user,” “subscriber,” “customer,” “consumer” andthe like are employed interchangeably throughout, unless contextwarrants particular distinctions among the terms. It should beappreciated that such terms can refer to human entities or automatedcomponents supported through artificial intelligence (e.g., a capacityto make inference based, at least, on complex mathematical formalisms),which can provide simulated vision, sound recognition and so forth.

As employed herein, the term “processor” can refer to substantially anycomputing processing unit or device comprising, but not limited tocomprising, single-core processors; single-processors with softwaremultithread execution capability; multi-core processors; multi-coreprocessors with software multithread execution capability; multi-coreprocessors with hardware multithread technology; parallel platforms; andparallel platforms with distributed shared memory. Additionally, aprocessor can refer to an integrated circuit, an application specificintegrated circuit (ASIC), a digital signal processor (DSP), a fieldprogrammable gate array (FPGA), a programmable logic controller (PLC), acomplex programmable logic device (CPLD), a discrete gate or transistorlogic, discrete hardware components or any combination thereof designedto perform the functions described herein. Processors can exploitnano-scale architectures such as, but not limited to, molecular andquantum-dot based transistors, switches and gates, in order to optimizespace usage or enhance performance of user equipment. A processor canalso be implemented as a combination of computing processing units.

As used herein, terms such as “data storage,” data storage,” “database,”and substantially any other information storage component relevant tooperation and functionality of a component, refer to “memorycomponents,” or entities embodied in a “memory” or components comprisingthe memory. It will be appreciated that the memory components orcomputer-readable storage media, described herein can be either volatilememory or nonvolatile memory or can include both volatile andnonvolatile memory.

What has been described above includes mere examples of variousembodiments. It is, of course, not possible to describe everyconceivable combination of components or methodologies for purposes ofdescribing these examples, but one of ordinary skill in the art canrecognize that many further combinations and permutations of the presentembodiments are possible. Accordingly, the embodiments disclosed and/orclaimed herein are intended to embrace all such alterations,modifications and variations that fall within the spirit and scope ofthe appended claims. Furthermore, to the extent that the term “includes”is used in either the detailed description or the claims, such term isintended to be inclusive in a manner similar to the term “comprising” as“comprising” is interpreted when employed as a transitional word in aclaim.

In addition, a flow diagram may include a “start” and/or “continue”indication. The “start” and “continue” indications reflect that thesteps presented can optionally be incorporated in or otherwise used inconjunction with other routines. In this context, “start” indicates thebeginning of the first step presented and may be preceded by otheractivities not specifically shown. Further, the “continue” indicationreflects that the steps presented may be performed multiple times and/ormay be succeeded by other activities not specifically shown. Further,while a flow diagram indicates a particular ordering of steps, otherorderings are likewise possible provided that the principles ofcausality are maintained.

As may also be used herein, the term(s) “operably coupled to”, “coupledto”, and/or “coupling” includes direct coupling between items and/orindirect coupling between items via one or more intervening items. Suchitems and intervening items include, but are not limited to, junctions,communication paths, components, circuit elements, circuits, functionalblocks, and/or devices. As an example of indirect coupling, a signalconveyed from a first item to a second item may be modified by one ormore intervening items by modifying the form, nature or format ofinformation in a signal, while one or more elements of the informationin the signal are nevertheless conveyed in a manner than can berecognized by the second item. In a further example of indirectcoupling, an action in a first item can cause a reaction on the seconditem, as a result of actions and/or reactions in one or more interveningitems.

Although specific embodiments have been illustrated and describedherein, it should be appreciated that any arrangement which achieves thesame or similar purpose may be substituted for the embodiments describedor shown by the subject disclosure. The subject disclosure is intendedto cover any and all adaptations or variations of various embodiments.Combinations of the above embodiments, and other embodiments notspecifically described herein, can be used in the subject disclosure.For instance, one or more features from one or more embodiments can becombined with one or more features of one or more other embodiments. Inone or more embodiments, features that are positively recited can alsobe negatively recited and excluded from the embodiment with or withoutreplacement by another structural and/or functional feature. The stepsor functions described with respect to the embodiments of the subjectdisclosure can be performed in any order. The steps or functionsdescribed with respect to the embodiments of the subject disclosure canbe performed alone or in combination with other steps or functions ofthe subject disclosure, as well as from other embodiments or from othersteps that have not been described in the subject disclosure. Further,more than or less than all of the features described with respect to anembodiment can also be utilized.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system, comprising: a processing systemincluding a processor; and a memory that stores executable instructionsthat, when executed by the processing system, facilitate performance ofoperations, the operations comprising: calculating a path length of aquantum path between a first node and a second node of a serviceprovider network comprising a software defined network (SDN), based onpre-provisioned information supplied by the SDN; identifying a quantumrepeater node responsive to the path length exceeding a threshold,wherein the quantum path comprises a first segment between the firstnode and the quantum repeater node; and facilitating a sharing of aquantum entanglement state between the first node and the second node toobtain a shared quantum entanglement state based on a transportation ofa first object of a first quantum entangled pair of objects via thefirst segment.
 2. The system of claim 1, wherein the operations furthercomprise: initiating a classical communication channel between the firstnode and the second node, the classical communication channel adapted tocommunicate quantum state information of the shared quantum entanglementstate from the first node to the second node to obtain communicatedquantum state information, wherein the quantum state information isobtained from a measurement performed upon a second object of the firstquantum entangled pair of objects, and wherein information is exchangedbetween the first node and the second node via the quantum pathaccording to the transportation of the first object of the first quantumentangled pair of objects and the communicated quantum stateinformation.
 3. The system of claim 2, wherein the first object of thefirst quantum entangled pair of objects comprises a first photon of aquantum entangled pair of photons, and wherein the quantum stateinformation is shared within a hybrid fiber-coax (HFC) network.
 4. Thesystem of claim 3, wherein the quantum state information comprisesoperational information of the HFC network.
 5. The system of claim 4,wherein the operational information of the HFC network comprises asecurity key.
 6. The system of claim 1, wherein the operations furthercomprise: determining a first location of the first node and a secondlocation of the second node based on the pre-provisioned informationsupplied by the SDN; and identifying a quantum source configured togenerate the first quantum entangled pair of objects based on the firstlocation, wherein a first network routing path extends between thequantum source and the first node, the first network routing pathadapted to transport a second object of the first quantum entangled pairof objects to the first node.
 7. The system of claim 6, whereinidentifying of the first network routing path further comprises:identifying a second network routing path based on the second location,the second network routing path extending between the quantum source andthe quantum repeater node, the second network routing path adapted totransport a second object of the first quantum entangled pair of objectsto the quantum repeater node.
 8. The system of claim 7, wherein thefirst object of the first quantum entangled pair of objects comprises afirst photon of a quantum entangled pair of photons, and wherein thefirst segment comprises a fiber optic link adapted to transport thefirst photon of the first quantum entangled pair of photons.
 9. Thesystem of claim 7, wherein the first object of the first quantumentangled pair of objects comprises a first photon of a quantumentangled pair of photons, and wherein the quantum path comprises afree-space optical link adapted to transport a photon of the firstquantum entangled pair of photons.
 10. The system of claim 9, whereinthe quantum repeater node comprises a satellite repeater node, thefree-space optical link extending from a terrestrial location to thesatellite repeater node.
 11. A method, comprising: determining, by aprocessing system comprising a processor, a path length of a pathbetween a first node and a second node of a service provider networkcomprising a software defined network (SDN), based on pre-provisionedinformation supplied by the SDN; identifying, by the processing system,a repeater node responsive to the path length exceeding a threshold,wherein the path comprises a first segment between the first node andthe repeater node; and facilitating, by the processing system, a sharingof a quantum entanglement state between the first node and the secondnode to obtain a shared quantum entanglement state based on atransportation of a first photon of a first entangled pair of photonsvia the first segment.
 12. The method of claim 11, further comprising:initiating, by the processing system, a classical communication channelbetween the first node and the second node, the classical communicationchannel adapted to communicate quantum state information of the sharedquantum entanglement state from the first node to the second node toobtain communicated quantum state information, wherein the quantum stateinformation is obtained from a measurement performed upon a secondquantum photon of the first entangled pair of photons, and whereininformation is exchanged between the first node and the second node viathe path according to the transportation of the first photon of thefirst entangled pair of photons and the communicated quantum stateinformation.
 13. The method of claim 12, wherein the quantum stateinformation is shared within a hybrid fiber-coax (HFC) network.
 14. Themethod of claim 13, wherein the quantum state information comprisesoperational information of the HFC network.
 15. The method of claim 14,wherein the operational information of the HFC network comprises asecurity key.
 16. The method of claim 11, further comprising:determining, by the processing system, a first location of the firstnode and a second location of the second node based on thepre-provisioned information supplied by the SDN; and identifying, by theprocessing system, a quantum source configured to generate the firstentangled pair of photons based on the first location, wherein a firstrouting path extends between the quantum source and the first node, thefirst routing path adapted to transport a second photon of the firstentangled pair of photons to the first node.
 17. A non-transitory,machine-readable medium, comprising executable instructions that, whenexecuted by a processing system including a processor, facilitateperformance of operations, the operations comprising: estimating a pathlength of a path between a first node and a second node of a serviceprovider network comprising a software defined network (SDN), based onpre-provisioned information supplied by the SDN; selecting a quantumrepeater node responsive to the path length exceeding a threshold,wherein the path comprises a first segment between the first node andthe quantum repeater node; and facilitating a sharing of a quantumentanglement state between the first node and the second node to obtaina shared quantum entanglement state based on a transportation of a firstphoton of a first entangled pair of photons via the first segment. 18.The non-transitory, machine-readable medium of claim 17, wherein theoperations further comprise: initiating a classical communicationchannel between the first node and the second node, the classicalcommunication channel adapted to communicate quantum state informationof the shared quantum entanglement state from the first node to thesecond node to obtain communicated quantum state information, whereinthe quantum state information is obtained from a measurement performedupon a second quantum photon of the first entangled pair of photons, andwherein information is exchanged between the first node and the secondnode via the path according to the transportation of the first photon ofthe first entangled pair of photons and the communicated quantum stateinformation.
 19. The non-transitory, machine-readable medium of claim18, wherein the first segment has a segment length that does not exceedthe threshold, and wherein the quantum state information is sharedwithin a hybrid fiber-coax (HFC) network.
 20. The non-transitory,machine-readable medium of claim 19, wherein the operations furthercomprise: determining a first location of the first node and a secondlocation of the second node based on the pre-provisioned informationsupplied by the SDN; and identifying a quantum source configured togenerate the first entangled pair of photons based on the firstlocation, wherein a first routing path extends between the quantumsource and the first node, the first routing path adapted to transport asecond photon of the first entangled pair of photons to the first node.